Eat Local Series :: Carlson Farm

Never one to disappoint, Norm’s half chicken was a big hit!

I have to say that I so enjoyed the simplicity of this meal. I reheated leftover grits, roasted some veggies, and put the half chicken on the stove in my dutch oven. With a snap of my fingers, dinner was ready. Go ahead and call me a Domestic Diva or Cooking Queen – I’ll answer to either 🙂

My husband could not stop raving about how delicious the chicken was (less because of me, more because of the way it was raised). The man CLEANED every piece of meat off the bones and was utterly defeated when he learned I hadn’t cooked both halves.

Keeping with eating local, I used a BBQ glaze by American Spoon, which is based out of Saugatuck, MI.

You can buy the glaze here: https://www.spoon.com/maple-bbq-grilling-sauce.html

On a side note: Their Bloody Mary mix is the answer to every Bloody Mary drinker looking for a twist on their hot tomato cocktail. American Spoon adds horseradish to their mix which gives a nice little firey kick to your taste buds.

{Half Chicken with Maple BBQ }

[Ingredients]

• 1 half chicken from Carlson Farms
• 2-3 TBSP Montreal Steak seasoning
• 1/4 cup Maple BBQ Grilling Sauce
• 1 TBSP EVOO
• ~1 cup vegetable stock

[Directions]

1. Add the olive oil to the bottom of your dutch oven, place on stove over medium-high heat. 
2. Generously season chicken with seasoning, patting the seasoning into the chicken.
3. Place chicken in dutch oven, meatier side up to start, and cover. Reduce heat to medium.
4. Cook for 3-5 minutes then flip. Add a splash of vegetable stock to dutch oven to ensure that the chicken will not stick to the bottom and to keep the meat moist.
5. After 3-5 minutes, return the chicken to meat side up and glaze with about 1/3 of the sauce. Add additional stock to the bottom of the dutch oven, if necessary. Cover and allow to cook for a few minutes then flip and repeat.
6. For the last 3-5 minutes of cooking, return the chicken to meat side up, and glaze with remaining sauce. Turn off heat and cover until ready to serve.

Cheers,

Danielle

Summer Teriyaki Marinade

The days are FINALLY getting warmer and longer! The sun rise is right around 6 AM and the mornings haven’t been too chilly.  The last few evenings I’ve enjoyed either running or relaxing on the deck.  I will never get tired of summer days, I was made to live somewhere that has weather like this consistently!

With sunny days and warm evenings, everyone in my neighborhood has been doing a lot of grilling. Its a double edged sword – I love the smell of a grill at work but when I arrive home famished, walking over to the neighbors with a plate sounds much better than cooking 🙂

Marinating your meat or veggies before throwing them on the grill takes whatever your making to a whole new level of delicious. We used this marinade with chicken and it gave a flavor. I marinated about 7-8 chicken breasts using the proportions in the recipe, adjust accordingly to how much meat/veggies you are preparing.

{Summer Teriyaki Marinade}

[Ingredients]

• 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups Teriyaki sauce
• 1/2 cup + 2 TBSP Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
• 1 TBSP Honey
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger

[Directions]

1. In a large, resealable bowl whisk together ingredients expect chicken.
2. Reserve about 3/4 cup of marinade to baste chicken with.
3. Place thawed chicken in marinade, cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.
4. Cook on grill basting with reserved marinade when chicken is turned.

Cheers,

Danielle

Super Salads

The first section of the grocery store I push my cart to is the Produce section. I figure a cart FULL of bright reds, yellows, purples, and greens leaves less room and desire for all the other stuff perched on the shelves. As a budget minded shopper, knowing I’m paying a pretty penny for the fresh produce also deters me from tossing unnecessary items into my cart.

Since becoming a member at Costco and discovering their rain forest of fresh, and often organic, produce, this habit has reached a whole new level. Last weekend, my sister, hubby, and I went grocery shopping and by the time we left fruits and veggies, the cart was half full. #sorrynotsorry

The creativity it took to fit all those colors into my fridge was quite impressive.

As a vegetarian, I eat a lot of salads. To keep from getting boring, I like to add a variety of textures and flavors. Below I’ve listed my favorite mix ins and if you keep scrolling, you’ll find a recipe for a deliciously crunchy salad.

{Salad Success Mix-ins}

• Red, Yellow, or Orange Bell peppers
• Celery
• Black beans
• Chickpeas
• Quinoa
• Slivered almonds or walnuts
• Cranberries
• Apples
• Blueberries
• Mushrooms
• Avocado
• Butternut squash

{Super Salad with Asian Chicken}

[Ingredients]

• 1 1/2 cup mixed greens
• 1 1/2 cup spinach
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 orange pepper
• 1 avocado
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 zucchini
• 1 summer squash
• 2 chicken breasts or 1/2 block tofu
• 1/2 large onion
• 1 clove garlic
• Sweet Red Chili Sauce

[Directions]

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Set aside.
2. On a separate cutting board, with a clean knife, dice onion and 1/2 of an orange pepper. Dice garlic & set aside.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, spray with PAM then add onion and bell pepper to pan. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often, then add chicken.
4. Saute until chicken is cooked, reduce heat to low then stir in 2-3 TBSP of sweet red chili sauce.
5. While the chicken is cooking, rinse greens, peppers, zucchini/squash, and beans.
6. Using a clean cutting board and knife, chop peppers, zucchini, squash, and avocado.
7. In a large bowl, layer greens with chopped toppings. Top with chicken & serve with dressing of choice.

Cheers,

Danielle

Sesame Peanut Stir Fry

I was hoping to sit down to write a post bragging about the arrival of my nephew & a decadent dessert I baked to celebrate his arrival.

Jake had other plans.  He is still snuggled up in my dear sister’s belly.

Saturday night Mom & Dad Byers came over for dinner. I decided to make a stir fry with tons of veggies & chicken served over orange infused quinoa. I also steamed some edamame then lightly salted the delicious little pods. Since I don’t eat meat, I made tofu on my grill pan to add to my stir-fry.

It was quite tasty. I love how fresh & easy a stir fry is. And the wok is such a fun thing to cook in! Frozen veggies keep this dish low on prep time but high in nutrients & flavor!

{Sesame Peanut Stir Fry with Orange infused Quinoa}

[Ingredients]

• 1 1/2 bags of frozen stir fry veggies
• 1 bag of broccoli slaw
• 2-3 large chicken breasts
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 summer squash
• 1 bottle Lite Asian Sesame dressing
• 2 TBSP peanut butter
• 2 TBSP tahini
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp onion salt
• 2 cup quinoa
• 1/4 cup orange marmalade
• 1 TBSP coconut oil

[Directions]

1. Cut chicken into strips then into bite sized pieces
2. Heat wok over low to medium heat & grease with PAM
3. Add chicken & season with onion salt, ground ginger & tahini
4. Drain any fat from wok
5. While the chicken is cooking, slice bell pepper & summer squash
6. In a rice cooker, cook quinoa according to the instructions on box
7. Once chicken is cooked, add frozen stir fry veggies, sliced vegetables, broccoli slaw & 1 TBSP coconut oil to wok
8. Cover & let simmer 5 minutes
9. As the vegetables start to become tender, add 1/2 cup Asian sesame dressing & 1 large spoonful (roughly 2 TBSP) of peanut butter to wok. Using tongs, mix sauce & peanut butter to combine with the veggies and chicken
10. Cook a few minutes longer then remove from heat
11. Stir into cooked quinoa 1/4 cup orange marmalade
12. Serve stir fry over quinoa

Cheers,

Danielle