Spicy Chicken with Cucumber-Rhubarb Salsa

I’ve been trying to suck every last bit out of spring the last few weeks.  I’m not the biggest fan of summer – I don’t love when it’s extremely hot and humid outside.  I’m not looking forward to all the stickiness, the sweat, the sunburn, or the struggle of running in humidity.  I love spring.  Spring’s my thing.  Actually fall is my thing, but spring is a close second!  Anyway, the other day I realized that I haven’t actually had any rhubarb yet this season, so I thought I would find a fun, non-baked good kind of way.  By the way, this chicken would be excellent on the grill.  You know…if you had a grill.  Which I don’t.  Anyway, let me know what you think!

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Spicy Chicken with Cucumber-Rhubarb Salsa (original recipe from Bon Appetit)

For the spice rub:  1/2 t. cumin, 1/4 t. smoked paprika, 1/4 t. coriander.  Mix together and rub onto 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts which have been washed and patted dry with paper towels.

For the sauce:

• 1 habanero pepper, with seeds, stemmed
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced with white and green parts divided
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 1/4 c. olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450*F.  Combine first three ingredients in food process and pulse until finely chopped.  Then, add in soy sauce and olive oil and combine until a sauce forms.  Heat up 1 T. olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  After the rub is applied to the chicken, brown on both sides and then transfer to a greased baking pan.  Brush the spicy sauce onto both sides of the chicken evenly, then place in the oven until the internal temp reads 165*F (this will depend on the size of the chicken you are using!) – about 20-25 minutes.  When it is cooked, let it rest for 10 minutes.

For the salsa:

• 1-1/2 c. rhubarb, cut into 1/4″ cubes
• 1 c. 1/4″ cubes unpeeled seedless cucumbers
• 1/2 c. chopped cilantro
• 1 T. honey
• 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 t. fresh lime juice
• salt & pepper to taste

While the chicken is cooking, combine all of the ingredients for the salsa PLUS the green parts from the scallions above and toss to coat evenly.  Let this salsa sit for at least 10 minutes before serving it over the chicken.

Chicken Sausage, Apple, and Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Chicken Sausage, Apple, and Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

• 1 acorn squash
• half sweet onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 3 links of chicken sausage (I used Sweet Apple from Al Fresco), casing removed & crumbled
• 1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1/2 c. quinoa, cooked
• salt and pepper
• turmeric, coriander, and smoked paprika

Preheat the oven to 425*F.  Cut the acorn squash in half and remove the seeds.  Trim the intact end down so that you will be able to turn it over and it will sit level, then salt and pepper the flesh of the squash.  Spread a few tablespoons of oil on a sheet pan (I used coconut oil), then place the squash cut sides facing down onto the sheet pan.  Roast the squash for 20-25 minutes or until the squash becomes flexible.  Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your squash obviously!   While the squash is roasting, heat up about a tablespoon of cooking oil in a frying pan over medium heat.  Cook the onions and the garlic for a few minutes until they become translucent.  Remove from the pan and place in a small bowl.  Place crumbled chicken sausage into the pan and cook until browned.  Add the diced apple into the pan, then add the onion and garlic mixture back into the pan.  Stir to combine and let cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add in the quinoa and season to taste with turmeric, coriander, smoked paprika, and salt. Once the acorn squash is ready, turn them over and fill with the sausage mixture.

These were pretty portable and were easy to take to lunch with me, but fair warning: your coworkers are going to track you down to find out where the delicious smelling food is coming from and ask you what you are eating.  And BONUS: you get to eat the bowl!

Baked Turkey Meatballs w/ Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Spinach

It’s time for another round of Seasonal Eats: Spring Edition!  One of my favorite things about spring and eating seasonally?  The greens.  All of the greens.  I can’t get enough!  Spinach, chard, collard greens, kale, broccoli rabe – I want it all.  I had a few cups of leftover spinach this week after stuffing my face with spinach salads.

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Baked Turkey  Meatballs w/ Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach (from I Thee Cook)

• 1/3 c. shredded onion
• 1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup spinach, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 2. T. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1 t. dried basil
• 1/2 t. dried oregano
• 1 lb. ground turkey (or chicken – either is fine)
• marinara sauce
• 2 slices provolone cheese

Preheat the oven to 350*F.  Place the first nine ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Stir together with a fork.

Then, add the ground turkey and mix gently with your hands.  Ground turkey and chicken tend to turn to mush pretty easily, so be careful not to over-mix.  Roll into the size of your choosing and place on a greased cookie sheet.

I cooked mine for 18 minutes.  When the meatballs are done. let them rest for a few minutes and turn the broiler on high.  I moved mine to another dish for some reason (not sure why), added a bit of sauce to the top of each one and then placed provolone .

Broil until browned to perfection.  🙂

Bacon-Wrapped Honey Mustard Chicken Strips

You’re going to want to bookmark, pin, print, or save this one kids.  This is by far one of the easiest recipes I’ve made and I know I will be adding this into my weekly rotation.  It’s also Paleo for all of you cavepeople out there.  Even though my attempt at Paleo ended up as a big faleo, I still found a bunch of recipes I can’t wait to try.

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Bacon-Wrapped Honey Mustard Chicken Strips (original recipe from Paleo Cupboard)

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut lengthwise into strips
• 6 oz. bacon (I used regular cut hickory smoked)
• 1/3 c. raw organic honey
• 1/2 c. stone ground mustard
• 3 T. apple cider vinegar
• sea salt, ground pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper

First, preheat the oven to 400*F and prepare a pan.  I suggest lining a sheet pan with tin foil and then placing a rack on top of it.  I also suggest putting about 1/8″ of water in the sheet pan because the bacon grease will drip down and the water will prevent your house from smelling like it’s about to catch on fire.  Season the chicken with sea salt, ground pepper, and garlic powder.  Then, take pieces of bacon and wrap it around the chicken tenders like so:

Combine the honey, stone ground mustard, a dash of cayenne pepper, and the apple cider vinegar in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Brush the glaze onto the chicken and then cook them for about 13 minutes.  Then, flip the chicken and glaze the opposite side and bake for an additional 13 minutes.  Don’t be scared if the edges of the bacon are getting crispy or even burn, that’s fine!  If things get out of hand, you can always remove the extra burned pieces! It’s worth the mini panic attack, I swear…

3 Healthy Options From My Week

It’s time for another round-up of healthy options from my week!  These posts are as much for me to remember my good ideas as they are for you to feel inspired to try your own clean meals.  Despite the cooler temps this week, I definitely fell off the fitness wagon.  Hard.  Possibly broke a limb and was dragged behind the wagon – that’s how bad it was.  When you are being dragged behind the fitness wagon by your broken ankle, I strongly recommend taking a look behind you and trying to spot something positive back there.  The good news for me is that I’ve stayed pretty focused on eating clean. Now if only I could figure out a way to have a good fitness AND food week at the same time…

Anyway, here are 3 healthy options from my week:

1.

I love Panera, but I love control over what goes into my body more.  Solution?  DIY duh.  I of course made up my own thing based on what I had on hand but the thing that makes it “copcat” for me is the hummus instead of dressing.  I mean, who knew?  I may have had this salad every day this week – grilled chicken with Essence of Emeril seasoning, feta, sunflower seeds, chopped red peppers, and cilantro-jalapeno hummus from the Greek Gourmet.  It’s like a farmer’s market in my mouth.  As far as I’m concerned, I may never use dressing again.  This particular hummus is all I need.

2.

I found this recipe over on Just A Taste and have made them several times now.  I haven’t been disappointed!  The asparagus don’t get mushy or soft like they normally do because of the light breading.  They are so easy to make, too!  I subbed plain Greek yogurt in for the mayo in both the breading and the garlic aioli.  Seriously, how did I not know about these a hundred years ago?

3.

This one was kind of a happy accident.  I had about 2 cups of shredded chicken left over from various meal prepping during the week and I also had some sun-dried tomato “mayo” that I had made as a condiment for burgers LAST week (1/4 c. plain Greek yogurt + 1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped + 4 large basil leaves + 1 t. lemon juice + salt/pepper).

At the last minute, I threw the 2 together with some feta and lettuce on one of these wraps from La Tortilla Factory:

“Each wrap contains 20g of whole grains and 200mg of Omega 3 fatty acids with 8g of fiber and only 1.5g of fat {via}”

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What are some of your go-to healthy options for the week?

What toppings are on your favorite salad?