Greek chicken with tzatziki

Cookbooks just might be one of my favorite presents to receive. Especially if they are wholesome and healthy with beautiful picture spreads throughout. I can read about recipes for days, but it's those pictures that spike my appetite and make me cook after a long day at work. So. Thank you, Mom, for The Sprouted Kitchen cookbook.

Today wasn't too long of a day (although, it was my first day back after a nice, long Christmas vacation). I've got some spiced quinoa cooking for tonight's dinner, so I thought I would do some blog catch-up. I still have recipes from last week to share!

I've grown to love tzatziki. Which is saying a lot. Because this girl used to not even like yogurt. Not to mention Greek yogurt. But I love it now, and that is all the matters. When you see this tzatziki, you will understand why I chose to make it. It's actually almost like a salad. Or a cucumber salsa (is there such thing...?). Whatever you prefer. Anyways, it is so cool (in a "taste" sense of the word), but so zippy as well. The combination of fresh mint and dill is fabulous. 

Furthermore, the chicken marinade, which has a lot of the same ingredients used in the tzatziki, is great. Awesome, fresh recipe that I think will be even better in the spring or summer (I want to try this chicken grilled as the recipe recommends).

Greek chicken with tzatziki

Adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods

Serves 4.

Ingredients for the marinade:

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 lemon, juice and zest

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pounded to even thickness of 1/2 inch)

Mix all the ingredients together in a shallow baking dish and toss chicken breasts. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes or for several hours in the fridge.

Ingredients for the tzatziki:

2 English cucumbers

¼ red onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill

1 garlic clove, minced

⅓ cup Greek yogurt

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make tzatziki, slice cucumbers in half lengthwise. Use a small spoon to scoop out seeds in the center. Slice each half lengthwise into four or five long sticks, then dice. You should have about 3 cups. In a mixing bowl, stir together the cucumbers, red onion, mint, dill, and garlic. Add the yogurt, lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of salt, and pepper to taste. (Stir in yogurt and salt at last minute to prevent watery tzatziki (cucumbers release water a soon as they are mixed with salt).)

The recipe suggests grilling, but it's kind of chilly. So I simply sautéed the marinated chicken breasts in a pan and finished off in the oven until they reached an internal temperature of 170-175 degrees F. Let rest and serve with a large scoop of tzatziki and some warm brown jasmine rice.

Enjoy.

Edamame Salad with Crisp Steak Bits

This dish was really good, and if it looks a little summery to you, you're right to think so because it came from the June 2011 issue of Cooking Light.

I. Love. Edamame. So when I saw a picture of this salad, I bookmarked it and here we are. The bite-sized pieces of "crisp" steak were just so enticing, and the slices of avocado topped it off. Well, what I thought was avocado topped it off.

I'm at the grocery store buying ingredients for maybe three or so recipes that I'm going to make that week (this was a little while ago; I'm a bit behind on my blogging, evidently). As I'm shopping, I'm wondering how I could have forgotten to put avocado on my list (as I picture this edamame salad in my mind). In turn, I grab four ripe ones; you can never have too many. I mean, I would eat avocado sliced plain if needed.

Well, it turns out that the moon-shaped slivers of avocado I was envisioning were not actually avocado, but cucumber. So, in probably more words than needed, I have explained my reasons for including both avocado and cucumber in this dish. I think it works.

Cook edamame as usual; drain, rinse, and drain. Combine tamari soy sauce, minced fresh ginger, mayonnaise, wholegrain Dijon mustard, rice wine vinegar, and dark sesame oil in a large bowl. Add edamame, halved grape tomatoes, chopped and seeded English cucumber, and chopped green onions. Toss to coat. Heat olive oil in a skillet over high heat. Combine flank steak (cut into small chunks), salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Add steak to pan, cooking 5 minutes or until well browned and crisp.

Spoon edamame mixture onto plates and top with steak. Enjoy.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Lots of blog writing catch-up to do. The holidays are here!

For now, here is another lovely side for a packed lunch. Tabbouleh.

I love quinoa. It's a great alternative to rice or couscous. And it's high in protein. I basically just cooked the quinoa, rinsed, drained, and added tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, and an easy dressing (freshly squeezed lemon juice, sea salt, and extra-virgin olive oil).

More lunch sides like these coming. They're light and fresh, and go great with a pita or sandwich. Cheers.

Wild and Brown Rice Salad

Well, I definitely have some blog writing catch-up to do. I guess we've been busy. But still cooking never the less!

This last week, Zack and I set a goal: eat no restaurant food for one week. I usually meet Zack for lunch and we've sort of grown accustomed to getting food nearby his work. We try to be healthy (Subway, Asian food, etc.). But lately, I've gotten weirdly into personal finance and budgeting since I'm starting to work again. I'm all about saving money. And eating out does not equal "saving money."

It really is amazing how much less money buying a few lunch items from the grocery store is compared to eating out. I know this is all kind of obvious, but hey, I guess I got lazy about packing lunches and sort of forgot.

So, the rice salad. It's a great healthy alternative to pasta salad, and goes great with a turkey and ham sandwich on seedy, multigrain bread. This recipe has brown and wild rice in it, along with yellow bell pepper, celery, cucumber, tomatoes and cilantro. The dressing is a combination of extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, stoneground mustard, salt, and freshly ground pepper. This rice salad just tastes so healthy and the crunch of the fresh vegetables provides for great texture. Plus, it saved really well in the refrigerator for a few days.

I guess this last week taught me that there is no substitute for fresh, homemade food. You feel better, you look better, and you save money! Perfect timing for this revelation considering the holidays are coming up. Wouldn't you agree?