Super Bowl Party Food = Amazeballs.

Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl...here we go! Sadly, not this year, but you know where my allegiances always lie. Plus this Pennsylvania girl may have been a bit jealous of the snow up north, hence breaking out the best piece of head gear I own.

So once my hopes for an extensive post-season were as deflated as New England's balls, I started to think about not only where I would watch and hope for a Patriots loss, but what I would make. A request came in to make something healthy for a party, so I will post what I decided on in a future blog post. But in the meantime, here are some great options for those of you who want to keep your bellies fat and happy with all the awesome that comes with meat and cheesy goodness.

Katie's Super Bowl Top Five Dishes

Buffalo Cheese Bread: This post has received the most page views of anything I've blogged about over the last several years. I think it is a testament to how awesome my friend Nick's blog is. (see below for another reference and link). It takes everything that is awesome about buffalo wings and substitutes the meat for bread.

Janet's (meat)BALLS: Sweet, sweet meat.  Balls. 'Nuff said.

Sticky Wings: These are my favorite wings and they are the creation of my buddy Nick at http://www.macheesmo.com. I've made them several times and they are always a crowd-pleaser. If you like an Asian-style wing and love that Rooster sauce, these wings are for you.

Stuffed Jalapenos: These little pillows of meat and cheesy goodness are stuffed with chorizo and smoked gouda. And boy is it gouda.

Tomatillo Peach Salsa: This beats any jarred fruit salsa variety. Hands down and worth the extra effort.

And to give a quick shout-out to a former work colleague of mine who had a role in this little bit of amazing...don't forget about food safety this Super Bowl Sunday!

Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a big fan of make-your-own-takeout. Not only is it economical, but I also think that many Asian dishes are pretty easy to make, and I often have most of the spices and necessary ingredients in my cupboard. From curry powder to garam masala to ginger, most have similar flavor profiles which make the dishes easy to make and in my opinion, not too difficult to mess up.

One thing that I hadn't attempted before in making my own Asian carryout was to use a slow cooker. Two weekends ago I found I had a craving, a slow-cooker, and a cooking partner in crime. The result was this lighter version of a butter chicken that makes enough to feed a small army.

Slow Cooker Butter Chicken (serves 8)

Ingredients:

• 1 TB olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 (14-oz.) can light coconut milk
• 1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
• 2 TB whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. garam masala
• 1 tsp. curry powder 
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (I like my dishes a little hot, so I think this helped with the flavor)
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder, or more, to taste
• 1/2 tsp. ginger powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 TB chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, tomato paste, flour, garam masala, curry powder, chili powder and ginger powder until well combined and slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Place chicken into a slow cooker. Add sauce mixture and gently toss to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 hours.

Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro, if desired. We made with brown rice for a healthy lunch that also froze pretty well.

Quick Chicken Noodle Soup

It started with a sniffle, and then manifested into something far worse...a complete loss of voice. This is what I experienced over the holidays and I'm just now starting to feel more like myself.

From what I hear in the hallways  at work and amongst others in the area, this nasty bug has been hitting everybody. When you're sick, you often crave comfort food. For some people, that is the types of foods mom would make you when you were sick as a child. Peanut butter toast or grilled cheese were my go-tos. Nowadays, I tend to gravitate more to the exotic and I like to think that spicy food will cure what ails me most of the time. Unfortunately, when I was told I had a mild form of laryngitis, I was advised to avoid spicy foods and to focus on hot liquids and soups to nurse my way back to health.

When I'm not feeling well, the desire to cook anything that takes longer than 30 minutes is completely lost on me and when you don't have your mom around to make you that toast or soup, you have to cook through your Sudafed haze. So quick and easy is the way to go.

So I made the simplest, quickest soup I could come up with that included protein and vegetables: chicken noodle soup. Like most soups, this freezes well so I will continue to experience this soup's healing powers throughout this winter. But let's hope I don't need it!

Quick Chicken Noodle Soup (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken thighs, diced 
• 2 TB olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
• Salt and pepper
• 6 cups chicken stock 
• 1/2 lb. wide egg noodles

Directions:

Place a large pot over moderate heat and add olive oil. Add diced chicken thighs and cook for 5-6 minutes until the pink is gone. Remove from pot and set aside.

Add stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add bay leaves to the pot. Then add carrots, onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Add diced chicken, return soup to a boil, and reduce heat back to moderate. Add the noodles and cook soup an additional 6 minutes or until noodles are tender and remove soup from the heat.

Remove bay leaves and serve with saltines, if you desire.

Citrus Chicken with Cilantro-Lime Quinoa

I spent the past week in Pittsburgh where I ate my way around the various food spots in Oakland, but I'll cover that in my next post. The real reason I was in Pittsburgh was to be supportive to my family following my mother's breast cancer surgery. Everything went well with the procedure and the prognosis is excellent.

My mother spent most of the week in the hospital and between the pain meds and the effects of coming back from anesthesia, food was the farthest thing from her mind. But we knew that once she got home, it would be important for her to keep her strength up. I wanted to be sure that I helped out in one of the best ways I know how--cooking something she could not only eat, but perhaps even enjoy. So once my mother was discharged, I hit the grocery store, scoured the latest issue of Cooking Light, and found something mild in flavor and high in protein to cook.

This may not be the most exciting food to look at (though with my parents' large plates, everything looked uber sophisticated and petite) but my mother ate every last bite. This was the first meal she had that didn't consist of  bananas and bread, so I consider it mission accomplished. If you know someone with a sensitive stomach and/or recovering from surgery, this is a good option.

The sauce didn't glaze as I expected it to, making it more runny than expected, but the flavors were solid. I served the chicken and quinoa with coriander carrots.

Citrus Chicken with Cilantro-Lime Quinoa (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups chicken stock
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. grated lime rind, divided
• 3/8 tsp. salt, divided
• 1 TB olive oil
• 4 (6-oz.) skinless boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 TB lime juice
• 2 tsp. honey
• 1 TB butter

Directions:

Combine 1 1/4 cups chicken stock and quinoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until quinoa is tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in cilantro, 1/2 tsp. rind, and 1/8 tsp. salt.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Sprinkle chicken with remaining salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan, cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan.

Add remaining 1/2 cup stock to pain; cook for 1 minute and scrape pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in remaining 1/2 tsp. ring, orange juice, lime juice, and honey; simmer 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in butter. Return chicken to pan; turn to coat. Serve chicken with quinoa.

A Celebration of Good Things - Food Recap

Back in September, I had a "celebration of good things." I wanted to achieve a few things with this rooftop party.

1) To celebrate good news I had recently received. From a good prognosis for my mom, good test results for myself, and just having life look pretty good, I felt it was a good excuse to throw a party.

2) To thank all the great friends I have here in DC who have been so supportive in the past year.

3) To have an excuse to make a ton of food to celebrate and be thankful for the above.

I made a lot of dishes that I promised I would post the links for the recipes. They are all dishes that I have made previously on this blog, many of which have become staples for me when having friends over for food.

And in case you're wondering why I chose to use this photo of me attempting a selfie with a less than happy llama at Machu Picchu? My answer is simply...why not? The picture always makes me smile, and hopefully it will do the same for you.

Here's the recipe rundown. I should give a quick shout out to my friend Nick Evans at www.macheesmo.com, since three of the recipes below are courtesy of his awesome blog.

Sticky Wings - I love this sweet and spicy rub on wings. I'm tempted to use this on bone-in chicken this winter.

Chickpea Orzo Salad - This is a great side dish for a picnic, and I often make it for weekday lunches.

Three Bean Avocado Salad - This works wonderfully as a summertime side dish, especially if you have access to a grill to char the corn, but it could easily be made without smoky, grilly access.

Peach Tomatillo Salsa - Love. This. If you're into canning, this would be a great recipe to try.

Tomato Jam - You should also can this.

Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - I make these cookies all the damn time and they never disappoint.

So while you shouldn't try to take a selfie with a pissed off llama, you should follow my lead in trying any number of these recipes soon.

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

We have officially reached soup season. There is a chill in the air, great root vegetables at the farmers' markets, and I'm looking to do some advanced winter food prep. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy soups in the moment, but I like them even better the next day once all the flavors have had a chance to blend together. And I also like to freeze at least half of each batch of soup. This makes for great lunches far superior to any jarred variety.

I've made Thai soup before, but this was my first one to feature lemongrass and bok choy. I wasn't able to find fresh egg noodles, so I opted to use rice noodles. I think any type of thin noodle will work well in this soup.

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 12-16 oz. fresh egg noodles (or enough fresh or dried noodles for 2-3 portions)
• 6 cups good-quality chicken stock
• 1-2 stalks fresh lemongrass, minced
• 1/4 to 1/2 lb. chicken breast or thigh, chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 3-4 kaffir lime leaves
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal or ginger, shredded
• 1 red chili, sliced, or substitute 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. dried crushed chili or cayenne pepper
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 1 TB. oyster sauce
• 1/2 TB brown sugar
• 2 TB fish sauce
• 2-3 cups bok choy, chopped
• Coriander to season 
• Optional: 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

Directions:

Prepare the noodles according to instructions on package. Drain and rinse through with cold water to keep from sticking. Set aside.

Bring stock to a boil in a large soup pot. Add the prepared lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and the chicken. Boil over medium-high heat 3-4 minutes.

Reduce to medium heat and add the garlic, galangal/ginger, chili, and carrot. Simmer 2-3 more minutes.

While soup is simmering, add the oyster sauce and fish sauce as well as 1/2 TB sugar.

If your bok choy is the large variety, add only the thick white stalk pieces now (the green leaves take only seconds to cook, so reserve those for later). Continue simmering the soup 2-3 more minutes.

Lastly, add the leafy greens of the bok choy. Stir and simmer 30 seconds.

Reduce heat to low. Add the coconut milk, stirring well to incorporate.

To ensure a good balance, taste test for saltiness. Add more fish sauce if not salty enough. If too salty or sweet for your taste, add 1 Tbsp. lime or lemon juice. If too spicy, add more coconut milk. If too sour, add another 1/2 TB sugar.

To put the soup together, mound a generous amount of the cooked noodles in each bowl. Ladle over the hot soup and top with fresh coriander.

Food Porn: Chicken and Waffles

Up until a few years ago, I had never heard of the concept of eating fried chicken with waffles for breakfast. These two very different food items didn't make all that much sense together. Fried chicken for dinner? Sure! Pair it with some biscuits and mashed potatoes? Even better. But paired with waffles for breakfast? That just seemed downright odd. But was someone who often struggles on what to order at brunch, this dish is the best of both worlds. I like a little sweet with my salt, and this combination hits it dead on.

There are a bunch of places that serve this dish on their menu, but I recently tried out the Spit Chicken with Waffles at Kapnos for a friend's birthday brunch. Instead of deep frying the chicken, it was cooked on a spit giving it a crispy, flavorful skin but without all the breading that typically comes with this dish. The smoky maple syrup over the waffles topped this off and definitely gave the dish the right mix of sugar and spice and everything nice. If you want to try this flavor profile without all the fried-goodness, this is a great option for you? Otherwise, check out the chicken waffles at Founding Farmers or Birch and Barley. Or any of the awesome Soul Food restaurants in the DC area. Florida Avenue Grill anyone?

Trader Joe's Fajitas

The long awaited, much anticipated Trader Joe's arrived in the U Street neighborhood a few weeks back. Like many of my neighbors, I was very excited to have another grocery option in the neighborhood, especially a Trader's Joes.

It had been a while since I had been to one, but I decided to venture during a lunch hour during the work week when I found myself working from home. Because from everything I had heard, it is a madhouse any other time. I was in the mood to make what I used to fondly refer to as "Trader Joe's Fajitas" back when I regularly went to Trader Joe's when living in Virginia.

They're quite easy, but I can attest to their flavor. All you need to do is buy the following items from Trader Joe's.

• Pollo Asado Marinated Chicken
• Reduced Carb Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas
• Corn and Chile Salsa (Seriously, this is awesome salsa. Sweet with a hint of spice.)
• Vidalia Onion
• Whatever other toppings you like on chicken fajitas.

I grill the chicken on my grill pan, with the thickness of the cut of the meat, it usually takes 4 minutes a side. I also sauté whatever else I happen to have around. This time I went for an onion, cooked with salt, pepper and a dash of canola oil.

Even the most accomplished of chefs have a go-to shortcut for making a great dinner. This is mine.

On a side note, since this makes a lot of chicken, I decided to forego the tortilla and included all the ingredients over a spinach and arugula salad for a lighter lunch.

Grilled Cumin Chicken with Tomatillo Sauce

Happy Cinco de Mayo, ya'll! Late last week, I posted some of my favorite taco recipes to get you in the mood to celebrate. But here is one more dish that has a great Latin flavor, but with minimal work, perfect for a weeknight meal. I truly believe that making the tomatillo sauce from scratch is the way to go here, and it makes a great alternative green salsa.

Grilled Cumin Chicken with Tomatillo Sauce (serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 tsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 lb. tomatillos

1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

1/4 cup chopped green onions

2 TB fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped

1/4 tsp. salt

Cooking spray

Directions:

Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

Combine olive oil, cumin, black pepper and garlic cloves in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag; seal and let stand for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, discard husks and stems from tomatillos. Combine tomatillos and broth in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; cover and cook 8 minutes. Drain and cool slightly. Combine tomatillos, cilantro, and next six ingredients (through jalapeño) in a food processor; process until smooth.

Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 6 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. Serve with tomatillo sauce. And if you're like me, some rice and a nice Mexican beer.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo...Tempting Taco Recipes!

If you search taco on my blog, you will probably find more recipes in this category than any other type of food. I love tacos. But of all the tacos I've made, my fish taco with mango avocado salsa ranks supreme. It's easy. Flavorful. And with avocados in season, now is the time for you to make them. I made these again last week and they are simply delicious. I've also included the direct links to two other recipes that I would put in my top 3 taco attempts of all time. With Cinco de Mayo just around the corner, pick up taco fixings along with your tequila. They do go hand in hand.

1) Cumin-spiced Tilapia Fish Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa. Pictured at right. No other explanation needed. It was blurry because I was shaking with hungry anticipation. Seriously.

2) Potato and Chorizo Tacos. Because meat and potatoes are meant to be. Like Romeo and Juliet. Beards and Ironic Hipster Glasses. And me and you.

3) Beer-braised Chicken Tacos with Cabbage Slaw. Something a little less Mexican, but a whole lotta tasty. Diversify your tacos!

So pick up some tortillas and have some fun in the kitchen this weekend!

Personal White Chicken Pizzas

This week, I had grand plans to feature two dishes that resulted from buying a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. This is a trick I use often...it's a great short cut for having meat on hand for salads, sandwiches, soups, you name it. However, my grand plans were cut short by a power outage that lasted for nearly 36 hours, making the leftover shredded chicken I planned to use to make soup inedible.

So instead of two recipes, I can only offer you one for this week. But this one is a great option for those who want to make a lot of something and then freeze a portion for later. I used this recipe to make several individual pizzas, many of which I have frozen for later. And in case you were wondering, they were salvaged, along with a 3 pound piece of pork shoulder, and transferred to a neighbor's freezer for safe keeping until my power came back on.

At this time, I have yet to test how well these frozen pizzas do, but I'm confident in the instructions in Cooking Light that they will be wonderful. I'm including the recipe to make these but also the instructions on how to prepare for freezing.

Personal White Chicken Pizzas (makes 12 personal pizzas)

Ingredients:

30 oz. refrigerated fresh pizza dough, divided

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

8 garlic cloves, crushed

4 thyme sprigs

4 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

1 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt

4 tsp. cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

12 oz. shredded cooked chicken breast

6.5 oz. preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Italian-blend cheese (about 1 2/3 cups)

3 oz. fresh part-skim mozzarella cheese, torn into small pieces

2 TB fresh thyme leaves

1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup small fresh basil leaves

Directions:

Place a pizza stone or heavy baking sheet in oven. Preheat oven to 450° (keep pizza stone or baking sheet in oven as it preheats).

Let pizza dough rest, covered, at room temperature as oven preheats.

Combine oil, basil, red pepper, garlic and thyme  in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook 4 minutes or until garlic begins to brown, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine sieve over a small bowl; discard solids.

Combine milk, yogurt, and vinegar in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 6 minutes. Gently stir to form small curds. Strain curds through a fine sieve; let stand 5 minutes. Discard liquid. Combine oil mixture, cheese curds, and salt, stirring gently.

Divide dough into 12 equal pieces (about 2.5 ounces each). Roll each piece into a 6-inch circle on a lightly floured surface (keep dough covered with a damp towel to prevent drying). Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons oil mixture over each pizza, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Divide chicken, Italian-blend cheese, and mozzarella cheese evenly among pizzas; sprinkle evenly with thyme leaves and black pepper. Carefully remove pizza stone from oven. Arrange 3 to 4 pizzas on pizza stone.

Bake at 450° for 8 minutes or until dough is golden and cheese browns. Repeat procedure with remaining pizzas, or follow freezing instructions. Sprinkle pizzas evenly with fresh basil leaves.

TO FREEZE: Bake pizzas on preheated stone for only 5 minutes. Cool; wrap individually in heavy-duty foil, stack, and freeze up to 2 months.

TO REHEAT: No thawing: Place frozen pizzas on a baking sheet that's not preheated; bake at 450° for 13 minutes or until cheese browns.

Chicken Tikka Masala

For regular blog readers, you all know that I like to cook a variety of ethnic dishes. My interests often lean toward Asian foods so it came as a bit of a surprise to me when I realized that I have never attempted Indian food. This may be a partial lie, because I have made tandoori chicken before, but it was a very long time ago and I'm sure I tried to make it healthy and therefore lost the true essence of the traditional flavors. But not this time! I went all in with this Indian dish. Heavy cream? Check. Full-fat yogurt? Check. Lots of awesome spices? Check! Check! The resulting dish made for a small army, but I imagine you could easily cut this in half. I served with a brown basmati rice.

Chicken Tikka Masala (serves 8)

Ingredients:

• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 tsp. ginger, grated
• 4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 1/2 cups whole-milk yogurt (not Greek!)
• 1 TB kosher salt
• 2 lbs., boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
• 3 TB ghee (or vegetable oil)
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 6 cardamom pods, crushed
• 2 dried chiles de arbol (or 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes)
• 1 28-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cups chopped cilantro

Directions:

Combine garlic, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, and cumin in a small bowl. Whisk yogurt, salt, and half of spice mixture in a medium bowl; add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and chill 4-6 hours. Cover and chill remaining spice mixture.

 

Heat ghee in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion, tomato paste, cardamom, and chiles and cook, stirring often, until tomato paste has darkened and onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add remaining half of spice mixture and cook, stirring often, until bottom of pot begins to brown, about 4 minutes.

 

Add tomatoes with juices, crushing them with your hands as you add them. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often and scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot, until sauce thickens, 8-10 minutes.

 

Add cream and chopped cilantro. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, 30-40 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack inside sheet. Arrange chicken on rack in a single layer. Broil until chicken starts to blacken in spots (it will not be cooked through), about 10 minutes.

 

Cut chicken into bite-size pieces, add to sauce, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, 8-10 minutes. Serve with rice and cilantro sprigs.

Chicken, Prosciutto and Pear Arugula Salad

I like simple salads and when salads contain enough savory ingredients (which in my book is meat, cheese and/or fruit, or some combination thereof) I'm even more inclined to make them for my lunch for the week. I recently revisited a Rachel Ray recipe I made a year or so ago, and decided to make it as a salad, eliminating the "warm" and the bun. I obviously cooked the chicken, but the rest of the ingredients I served cold over the salad.

This was quite flavorful and I think I'm going to make this homemade salad dressing again. In my book, you can't go wrong with Dijon mustard. Also, if you wanted to make this even easier, you can just use shredded rotisserie chicken. Not that I've EVER taken that shortcut. ;)

Chicken Parmesan with Pasta

It's a new year. And with each new year, there is always a mad dash to resolve to eat better and work out more. I always make it a point to try and find healthier version of comfort foods, especially during the winter. This past week was no exception. I effectively had a quiet week where I essentially went to work, went to the gym, and went home and cooked. I relished in the quiet and caught up on some much needed sleep.

But in deciding which dish to make in a lighter, yet tasty way, I found myself gravitating toward a type of cuisine that I don't cook very often: Italian. After discussing eating habits and preferences over the weekend, I came to realize that not everyone is adventurous as me when it comes to eating. And that's to be expected. Everyone has their tastes and their preferences. I have had some great Italian food in my time, but I don't cook it very often. So I was inspired to revisit an Italian classic that just about anyone can get behind...Chicken parmesan.

But before I share the recipe, I want to share a story about chicken parm and veal parm, an oldie but a goodie involving my grandmother. She has always been a fan of the Olive Garden (I will keep my opinions to myself there!) and a few years ago, we were in the process of packing her up to sell her home and to move into an assisted living facility. What we discovered in her large freezer in her basement was pretty amazing. Boxes upon boxes of veal and chicken parm from Olive Garden. She would always pack up half of her meal to take home. Then she'd freeze it. And forget about it. I can only imagine how old some of those Styrofoam boxes were. To this day, she still likes to go to the Olive Garden. So I bought her a gift card to go there with her card playing friends sometime this winter. And I bet she'll order the parm. But at 91, I just hope she indulges a bit and eats the whole damn thing.

Chicken Parmesan with Pasta (serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 oz uncooked pasta

2 (14.5-oz) cans unsalted petite-diced tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 TB olive oil, divided

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided

3 TB finely chopped fresh basil

2 (8-oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

2 TB all-purpose flour

1 tsp garlic powder

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

1 tsp butter

2 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

Torn basil leaves

Directions:

Preheat broiler to high.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

While pasta cooks, place tomatoes in a food processor; process until almost smooth. Heat a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pepper and garlic; cook 1 minute or until fragrant, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes and 3/8 teaspoon salt; cook 15 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in chopped basil. Toss 1 cup sauce with pasta; keep warm.

While sauce cooks, split each chicken breast half horizontally to form 2 cutlets. There will be four in total. Combine flour, garlic powder, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle tops of cutlets with half of flour mixture; pat evenly onto cutlets. Turn cutlets over. Sprinkle with remaining flour mixture; pat onto cutlets. Shake off any excess flour. Place egg in a shallow dish. Combine panko and Parmigiano-Reggiano in another shallow dish. Dip cutlets in egg; dredge in panko mixture.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and butter to pan; swirl until butter melts. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned and done. Place chicken on a baking sheet; top evenly with mozzarella. Broil 2 minutes or until cheese melts.

Arrange about 1/2 cup pasta mixture on each plate; top each with 1 cutlet and about 3 tablespoons remaining sauce. Sprinkle with torn basil, if desired. And if you're me, just a bit more cheese.

Moroccan Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup

So it's been cold. Really cold. And what's the best thing to make for this type of weather? Soup. This flavorful soup is very simple to make and features a lot of great cold weather vegetables, like butternut squash. I actually made this soup in December, but froze a good portion of it for January. Perhaps I saw this winter vortex coming.

Moroccan Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
• 2 TB no-salt-added tomato paste
• 4 cups chicken stock 
• 1/3 cup uncooked couscous
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
• 2 tsp grated orange rind

Directions:

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add chicken; cook for 4 minutes, browning on all sides. Add cumin, cinnamon, and pepper to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add butternut squash and tomato paste; cook 1 minute.

Stir in Chicken Stock, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes.

Stir in couscous, salt, and zucchini; cook 5 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove pan from heat. Stir in chopped basil and orange rind.

2013 CFC Chili Cookoff

This week, I was one of the organizers for our division's second chili cookoff. The tradition started last year and we decided to resurrect the idea again this year, but on a smaller scale. This didn't mean we skimped on chili, just made it more about our division's efforts related to CFC.

For those unfamiliar with the acronym, CFC stands for the Combined Federal Campaign. The CFC provides federal employees an opportunity to donate pre-tax dollars, right from their paychecks, to charities of their choosing. Through the CFC campaign season, which typically runs from October- December, events are held to raise awareness of the initiative, and also raise a little money for the general fund. This was one of those events.

I'm happy to report that I came in third place in both the official judging, as well as the people's choice. There were some great offerings this year, from a lamb chili to a Filipino-style chili with black rice. I made my traditional Cincinnati-style chili, but with beef as opposed to my typical chicken, and without the addition of pasta. But this pasta was definitely sugar and spice and everything nice.

But even more importantly, we raised more than $300 for the CFC.

Here are some of my previous chili posts in case you are so inspired to make a chili for this chilly weather.

Cincinnati-style Chicken Chili

Savory Chicken Chili with Corn and White Beans

Turkey Chili

Savory Saturday: A Different Kind of Chicken Chili

It's starting to get cold out. I finally put the blanket on my bed and turned on the heat. This means it is officially time to break out the comfort food recipes. I have made this white chili several times over the last year. Combining corn, fennel and parmesan cheese, this is not your typical chili. It isn't overly spicy, and tastes more like a chowder. But when the weather turns cold, this will keep you warm.

I originally posted this recipe around this time last year, but will admit the photo didn't make it all that appetizing. Perhaps I've done better this time around to entice you to make this no-fail recipe.. For the original recipe and post, click here.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

In my continuing efforts to use food in my refrigerator, I found that I had all the necessary ingredients to make my very simple chicken cordon bleu. This is something I've been making for over 10 years and probably the most complex part of the recipe is rolling everything together in a way that it sticks together, rolled, in a toothpick in order to bake.

This process has become easier in recent years since Perdue started to sell very thin chicken breasts, I think usually used for scappoline or some other similar dish, but they work really well when you roll anything into chicken. Unfortunately, this type wasn't available and since I was working my way through the fridge, I thought this was a good a time as any to take out some of my frustration over the government shutdown by taking a mallet to the chicken to flatten it out.

Chicken Cordon Bleu (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breasts, pounded thin and flat.
• Deli ham, thinly sliced
• Deli swiss cheese, thinly slice
• Dijon mustard
• Italian breadcrumbs
• Toothpicks

Directions:

****You'll notice that I didn't give very specific amounts to the above ingredients, because this is really easy to just eyeball. But as a rule of thumb, you'll use one slice of ham and one slice of cheese for each flat breast. I used very small breasts, so the cheese and ham kind of spill out into the pan and get crispy. But that's how I like it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Take flat piece of chicken and spread dijon mustard on top of it, just enough to lightly coat the chicken. Then, place one piece of cheese and one piece of ham on top of the chicken. Gently roll the chicken lengthwise until it becomes ball and stick with a toothpick to secure. Lightly dust with breadcrumbs.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I like to serve with brown rice and green beans.

Tabbouleh with Chicken and Red Pepper

In my continuing effort to pack healthier lunches more often, and my propensity when I'm busy to buy pre-cooked rotisserie chickens and find ways to repurpose the meat, I tried this out a few weeks back. Flavor wise, it's pretty tame...probably could use more pepper, or perhaps even some red pepper flakes. But as far as healthy goes, it hits the mark. I've never cooked with bulgur before, but because you can't ever seem to buy a small amount of anything at my grocery store, I have plenty to cook with again at some other point. How do you like to cook with bulgur?

Tabbouleh with Chicken and Red Pepper (makes 3 lunch-sized portions)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup uncooked bulgur
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 1/2 cups diced plum tomato
• 3/4 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
• 3/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup diced English cucumber
• 1/4 cup minced fresh mint
• 1 1/2 TB fresh lemon juice
• 1 TB extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Combine bulgur and 1/2 cup boiling water in a large bowl. Cover and let stand 15 minutes or until the bulgur is tender. Drain well; return bulgur to bowl. Cool.

Add tomato and remaining ingredients; toss well.

Freakin' Fantastic Food Friday: Greek-style Chicken and Couscous

In my second installment of Freakin' Fantastic Food Friday, I revisit a dish I've made half a dozen times, and I have no idea what to call it, but the end result is always tasty and it's ridiculously easy to make.

Basically you simply grill chicken (sometimes I'll marinate it in Greek dressing, other times I'll just use garlic powder, salt and pepper) and the mix it in with the other ingredients. This takes about 20 minutes start to finish and is great for work lunches. You've got your proteins, your carbs, and some vegetables. It's relatively healthy, but with great flavor. Just what this girl needs for work during the week.

For the complete recipe, visit my previous post here.