Monday, October 28, 2013

Roasted Veggie Chicken Bake

This recipe was published in my August 2013 newsletter.


Roasted Veggie Chicken Bake
Ingredients:
3-5 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1 tsp Sea Salt (or Himalayan pink salt)
2 tsp Rosemary (dried; 1 tsp fresh)
1 T Garlic (minced; (2) fresh – finely diced)
2 T basil (lemon basil, frozen fresh in EVOO; see image at the end)
Asparagus 
Red Potatoes (6 medium sized)
Sunburst Tomatoes (1 pound; or your choice of tomatoes)
4-6 Chicken Breasts 

Directions:
Heat oven to 400° F. 
Prepare protein of your choice. In this case, I used chicken breasts that were lightly pounded to ¼ inch thick. Marinate the thin chicken breasts in EVOO (just enough to cover chicken) and sea salt in your bake ware while you prepare your vegetables.
Snap off (and discard) fibrous ends of the asparagus and cut into 1 inch pieces. Cut red potatoes and tomatoes into quarters. All the veggies should be similar in length so you may need to cut the quarters into halves. Toss veggies in EVOO, 1 tsp rosemary, garlic, and ¼ tsp of sea salt.  
Cover the chicken breasts with the tossed vegetables. Drop two of the basil 'cubes' on top of the veggies before placing in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered until chicken is cooked through (typically 160° F and when juices run clear). At the 15 minute mark, lightly toss vegetables for even roasting. 
Tip: Place a cookie sheet under your bake ware for easier handling. 
Let cool for 10 minutes. Dig in! Enjoy!!


Tip: To preserve fresh herbs, you can wash, dry, trim, and place in ice cube trays and fill with water or an oil of your choice. Place in the freezer and in about 1 hour, they'll be frozen. In the image above, the 'cubes' turned yellow due to EVOO. The 'cubes' on the right, I used spring water. My son likes to eat the herbs frozen in water - a nice summer treat!

Tip 2: Ask your children to get involved with preparing food at a young age. You may plant a seed that will blossom into a love of cooking! 

Choose, eat, and live well! =)

Friday, October 18, 2013

Antioxidant Rich Purple Potatoes


What a beautiful potato, yes?! When I opened my CSA box last week, I was transported to the kitchen of Chopped on The Food Network. I have seen them used in that kitchen but have never eaten them. I couldn't wait to try them! My husband suggested roasting them with garlic and rosemary. Why that sounded like a great idea! 

Purple potatoes are antioxidant rich and guess what? When you close your eyes and take a bite, they taste exactly like a Russet potato! 

I recommend eating potatoes that haven't been grown using pesticides. Potatoes are on the EWGs Dirty Dozen list. However, I know not every family can afford to buy 100% organic produce. The benefits of eating fruits and vegetables grown in any way outweigh the risks of not eating any produce. When you're able to make different food purchases, aim for buying organic produce that falls on the annual publication of the Dirty Dozen. They have found up to 35 varieties of pesticides on potatoes. 

Roasted Purple Potatoes

Preparation
2 pounds of purple potatoes (or 8-10 potatoes)
1 cup of vegetable broth (make your own)
2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
2 tsp Himalayan Sea Salt
1 tsp fresh (or dried) Rosemary

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 420 degrees F. Cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes (similar sizes) for even roasting and add to a Corning Ware dish. Salt the potatoes and toss them for even coating. Pour the vegetable broth over the potatoes. Sprinkle the rosemary and garlic onto the potatoes. Roast for 20 minutes without the lid. Toss (using a long handled spoon carefully toss them while in the oven) and continue roasting for another 20 minutes with the lid on. Check the texture of the potatoes. I roasted mine for 45 minutes. 

(I received a Corning Ware set as a wedding gift 8.5 years ago. I like that it's versatile, durable, chip-resistant, and maintains its new appearance for a long time. Best of all, it is easy to clean and it truly can be used from the oven to table to freezer.) 

Many years ago I moved away from table salt to sea salt then I was introduced to Himalayan Sea Salt about two years ago. I know the benefits of the pink salt outweigh the benefits of sea salt but I'm not always consistent but what I can tell you though is the only table salt you'll find in my house is for use in my son's crafts. You can find iodine in cow's milk (if they've eaten iodine rich foods while grazing) and in seafood (you can supplement with Cod Liver Oil (I recommend Nordic Naturals - I'm an affiliate as a Certified Health Coach)). If you like sea vegetables, kelp is an exceptional choice for iodine. Also some processed foods have added iodine. 

While my potatoes roasted, I cut up some yellow onions and carrots and seasoned 6 chicken breasts with Himalayan Sea Salt, cumin, and garlic. I also roasted this in my own vegetable broth for 35 minutes covered. The chicken came out so moist! The carrots were just right - with just a little crunch. (I'm not a fan of mushy vegetables.) 

Have you eaten purple potatoes? If so, how did you prepare them? Feel free to leave a comment with your recipe. Maybe I'll try yours out and share it in a future blog post! 

Choose, eat, and live well! =)