Orange Chicken on the Fly

You have in your kitchen:

2 chicken breasts
a cup of orzo
a handful of toasted pecans
a beautiful zucchini from the garden
fresh cilantro
a tangy lemon
freshly shredded asiago
orange juice
chili powder

WHAT DO YOU DO?!

You create a fabulous chicken recipe on the fly, that's what you do!


Orange Chicken on the Fly

In a wok or skillet, heat coconut oil, roughly 2 tablespoons of orange juice concentrate, and a healthy tablespoon of chili powder, and then add cut-up chicken breasts.

Meanwhile, on the other burner boil enough water for a cup of orzo, then drop the orzo in to cook.

When the chicken has had a chance to start cooking, add the zucchini. You don't want the zucchini to get mushy - you want it to hold it's shape. Salt and pepper to taste.

When the orzo is al dente, transfer it to a medium-sized bowl, add a little more coconut oil, a splash or four of lemon juice, and a generous amount of chopped cilantro.

Pile the orzo onto a serving plate, followed by the chicken/zucchini combo. Decorate with toasted pecans and shredded asiago.

I think this is the prettiest way to display this fabulousness on the fly, but you could toss it all together if you like.

Serve immediately!
( Seriously! Immediately. :)

IF you do not eat this in one sitting, the next day you can add a touch of greek yogurt or sour cream and eat it cold or heated through.

Veggies with a Touch of Orzo

Jen and I love pasta, but it's probably not something we should live on. Even though in a perfect world, Alfredo would be a life sustaining food. I think most of us know that a healthy meal usually involves a good protein with lots of vegetables. Only sometimes, depending on the protein - say a fish - the meal can feel a little too light, so I find myself rationalizing that carbs are energy and we can ALL use a little more energy, so sprinkling a bit of carbs into the mix will give the whole world more energy! When I lie to myself like this, I find myself reaching for the orzo, because in my make-believe world IT IS rice.

When I first dreamt up this dish, I envisioned it as a vegetable recipe, but I convinced myself that if a few little orzos were peaking out between the veggies, that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Psychologically, I would feel proud of myself for eating all the vegetables and emotionally, I would feel soothed by the tiny specks of pasta I had not been denied. And so I call this recipe, Veggies with a Touch of Orzo.

This dish can be created in the short time it takes to cook orzo, because by the time the veggers have been lightly sauted and you've added the few remaining ingredients, the orzo is cooked and ready to be mixed with the vegetables. It's quick, it's easy, it's colorful, and it tastes deeee-lightful.


Veggies with a Touch of Orzo

One Medium Zucchini
One Yellow Pepper
One Large Tomato
1/4 - 1/2 Cup Minced Red Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/8 Teaspoon Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon of Dried Basil
3/4 Cup to One Cup Orzo Pasta
One Tablespoon of Salted Butter
2-3 Tablespoons of Light Cream
1/3 Cup of Asiago or Parmesan or Gouda or.......Cheese

Bring a pan of water to a boil. Pour orzo in the water and cook until al dente. Drain.

Heat olive oil in a wok or saute pan over medium heat. Cut zucchini and yellow pepper into pieces and add to the oil. Cover, but stir occasionally for a couple minutes. Add the garlic and onion and continue to cook until lightly softened. Keeping it covered will help keep the moisture in the pan and produce the necessary juices to make a simple, but savory sauce.

Meanwhile, cut the tomato and remove any pulp. Cut into pieces. Set aside.

When the vegetables have softened but are still firm, add the salt, pepper, and basil. Then add the tablespoon of butter and cream to create a light sauce. Remove from heat.

Add the drained orzo to the pan and mix together. Toss in the tomato. ( I choose to add the tomato after the cooking process because I think it makes it more refreshing and light compared to a cooked down tomato). Finely grate whatever cheese you've chosen and fold into the mix. Add a touch more cream and a dash of salt if necessary to create a smooth and tasty sauce - but don't go crazy! We just want enough to wet the ingredients, we don't want anything swimming or taking a bath in the sauce.

Serve with grated cheese on top because everybody loves cheese!

This dish tastes great when served immediately. It's fresh and flavorful and alive. Of course, as it sits and cools, it's still totally edible. Totally!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I labeled this under "Winging It" because I really don't use a recipe for this. You could change up the vegetables, but using a moisture-rich vegetable like zucchini and onion helps create juice for your sauce, so less cream is needed. I add salt, pepper, and cheese as I taste necessary, to get a light but mild flavored dish. So, play around with the vegetables, spices, and cheese and create for yourself a new and exciting dish every time!

Just Have Fun Winging It!

Wingin' It With Chicken

What if you came home from work one night and decided you just didn't feel like playing by the rules when it came to making dinner? What if you're single? What if you're not, but the family isn't home and you're the only one eating? What if it's just you in the kitchen and you can make whatever you want? What WOULD you do?

Go crazy, we hope!

Have fun and explore the possibilities!

Sometimes we don't feel like reading from a recipe and following it to the letter, so we 'wing it'.

Today, we're Wingin' it With Chicken.

Open the fridge and find some crazy sauce to bathe the chicken in. Do you see that Thai Chili Sauce on the top shelf, way in the back, behind the jar of dill pickles? Grab that and dump a big blob of it into your wok or skillet. Fire up the heat and let's get things going.

Start by cutting the chicken breast into pieces - whatever size you like - and drop them into the sizzling sauce. Go back into the fridge, open the veggie crisper and see what you find there. We spy a beautiful red pepper sitting right next to a large red onion - grab them both. On a clean cutting board, start chopping away at these vegetables until you think it looks like enough to compliment the chicken. Add them to the fire.

Okay! Let's see what's in the freezer - besides ice cream!

Right there, in front of your face is some frozen corn - that'll work - grab that! Open her up and dump some in. Stir everything together, add a dash of salt and a pinch of pepper and cover it with a lid to keep all the heat and moisture inside.

When the chicken is sufficiently cooked and the veggies have softened, lower the heat and add just a tablespoon or two of light cream into the mix - just enough to create a slight sauce.

Umm....it needs something else.

Open the fridge again. What kind of cheese do you have in the drawer?

Asiago? - yum! Grab some Asiago and sprinkle that in. Now, mix it all together and then have yourself a taste. Whoa! - it's a little sweet and a little spicy, but that cheese makes it "just right".

Yum! Yum! Good Job!

See! Who needs rules when you can Wing it?

Wingin' It with Flat Pizzas

I remember when I first moved into my house, I was so excited to do all sorts of dazzling landscaping. Of course, when it came time to actually start, I was completely lost and overwhelmed. I asked friends, family, even strangers at the garden nursery, for guidance on how to choose plants that grow well together and compliment one another. They all tried to help, but the general consensus was, "Have fun with it and figure it out as you go - kind of like trial and error". My Dad recommended several books that "map it all out for you and makes it as easy as can be", but still, I often found myself staring blankly into the dirt - numb with confusion. BUT, as the years went by, I realized every one of them had been right. It takes time, practice, patience, and creativity to know how to mix things together to create beauty in the garden.

The same holds true in the kitchen. People want step by step directions with precise measurements and exact ingredients to help guide them through a recipe, but if they just perked up and paid attention when they ate their food, they would find themselves becoming aware of how many different foods, spices, and flavors create magic together. Think back to the last fabulous meal you experienced at a restaurant. Remember all the different flavors they used to excite and please your palate? Well, YOU can reproduce that same tantalizing flavor in your own kitchen using the same ingredients and flavors. It might take a few tries to make it spectacular, but all the rough drafts are sure to be tasty too. Or not...

Today, we're going to create several pizzas with no rules - just the way I like it. I'm going to give you ingredients to consider and spices to try, but it's up to you to throw it all together using your own imagination and create your own personal style of pizza.

Ezekiel Flat Pizzas

First off, you can use any tortilla you want, but Ezekiel Tortillas are the healthiest and their flavor and texture are perfect for these pizzas. You can find these tortillas in the freezer health section of most of your regular grocery stores.

For the pizza down below, I chose Red Onion and Sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms. I tossed them in my wok ( you can use a skillet ) with a little Olive Oil, Salt, Cracked Pepper, and a sprinkle of Garam Masala. While those were softening over the heat, I chose to cover the tortilla with thin slices of Havarti cheese. Then, I covered the cheese with the onions and mushrooms and sprinkled a dusting of Asiago cheese on top. I placed it in a 400 degree oven and waited a few minutes for the tortilla to crisp up and the cheese to melt. It was Deelish.

For this pizza, I chopped up a Yellow Quash, Green Zucchini, Red Pepper, and Red Onion. I tossed them around in a wok over medium heat, with some Olive Oil, Basil, Oregano, Salt, Pepper, and a dash of Chili Pepper. I had just a little shredded Chicken left in the fridge, so he sort of crashed the vegetarian party - oh well - gotta have some protein at every meal anyhow, and then laid this over some Muenster Cheese, I think. Before I tossed it in the oven, I decided to toss a few Spinach leaves on just for fun. It had marvelous flavor.

And for my last trick, pictured at the top, I decided to use the Smoked Chitpotle Peppers my Dad ordered from the health food co-op and shared with me. He uses them on his own homemade pizzas and they are fabulous! I chopped up the "Chittle-Pole" Peppers - as my Dad calls them - and threw them in a skillet with some Ground Beef, Red Onions, and Italian Seasonings. I decided to cover one half of the tortilla with Havarti Cheese - because I'm on a Harvati kick lately - and the other half with Sharp Cheddar, because it's so intense. Then I layed the Ground Beef and some Orange Peppers that I had lightly sauteed with Red Onions on top the cheese and popped it in the oven.

Ouch! This pizza was a little zippy with that Chittle-Pole pepper in there - he's a real firecracker of flavor!

I know, I know, you've got to run - gotta get to the store and buy yourself some Ekekial Tortillas and create your own Flavor-Filled Flat Pizzas.

Have Fun!

Coming Soon... Tips On Making The Perfect Pancake From The One and Only "Pancake Master"...Jen!