What's for Dinner? Chicken Picadillo

So I am setting out on a new endeavor...to blog! I thought it would be kind of fun to post tasty recipes :-) (yes, I was inspired by the movie Julie and Julia!) My recipe posts will be named "What's for Dinner?"


This recipe is an awesome "back up" meal because it's pretty fast and I usually have most of the ingredients on hand! This is actually what we had last night. I meant to post this yesterday but didn't find the time! So my first recipe post will actually have two recipes :-)

This recipe is from "Eat Clean" by Tosca Reno.

Chicken Picadillo
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Yield: 8x one-cup servings

"From Cuban origin, picadillo is a favorite dish, usually made with beef, either ground of shredded, and doused liberally with multiple flavors ranging from tomato and pepper to capers and garlic. This is an ideal dish to make on a chilly day. Don't forget to serve it with brown rice and beans for a complete meal. The ingredient list looks long but the items are probably all lurking in your cupboard already. Dive in!"

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and deveined, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
2 cups fresh tomatoes, coarsely chopped (use low sodium canned diced tomatoes if you don't have fresh)
5 cloves garlic, peeled and passed through a garlic press
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sea salt
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1/2 cup raisins
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Optional:
1 bunch green onions, trimmed and chopped, for garnish
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high flame.
2. Add onion and pepper and cook until onion is soft - about 5 minutes.
3. Add chili powder, tomatoes, garlic, cumin, oregano, and sea salt. Cook for several minutes until mixture becomes fragrant.
4. Add chicken and raisins. Heat through for another 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
5. Serve over rice. Garnish with fresh chopped green onion and cilantro.



And tonight we had...


Chicken with Green Pea and Garlic Sauce

From "The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook"

Green Pea and Garlic Sauce
Makes about 1 cup

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, minced (I didn't have any shallots so I used the whites of about 5 green onions)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the shallot and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in the broth and wine and bring to a boil. Stir in the peas and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree until completely smooth, about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

What I did with it:

I cut up chicken breasts into pieces and stir-fried them in virgin coconut oil on the stove. Then I poured the sauce over the chicken to coat it. I served it over quinoa and made some green peas as a side. Now I will admit...the color is not the prettiest thing to look at. It's green...so it kind of resembles baby food, Lol! You may have a hard time getting the kids to eat it. But the taste was delicious! Simple and tasty :-)

Enjoy!

~Bekah :-)