Archives for May 2012

Fresh grilled chicken with oranges, avocados over a bed of Napa cabbage with a peanut sesame lime dressing.

May 3, 2012 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Chicken, Salads Leave a Comment

Light & refreshing is exactly what we all needed tonight. Kids just got home from a killer swim practice and I needed something easy (busy day) and something light that wouldn’t weigh me down. This was perfect 🙂

Ingredients for the salad:

1 head of Napa cabbage, shredded finely
4-5 chicken breasts (enough to serve your family)
4 oranges, peeled and sliced
1 jalapeño, diced with seeds removed
1/4 of a red onion, finely chopped
1/4 c of cilantro leaves, washed and rough chopped
2 tbl fresh lime juice
2 avocados, pitted and diced
1 tbl of sesame seeds (garnish)

Directions for the salad:

In a large bowl mix the Napa cabbage, oranges, jalapeño, red onion, and cilantro. Set aside. In a small separate bowl, add the avocado and lime juice. Toss to coat and set aside.

Grill up your chicken and then let rest for a few minutes. Then chop into bite sized pieces. Add to the salad.

Ingredients for dressing:

1.5 tbl of peanut butter
3 tbl of fresh lime juice
1 tbl seasoned rice vinegar
1.5 tbl of low sodium soy sauce
1.5 tbl light brown sugar
2/3 c of canola oil
1 tbl sesame oil
1/8 tsp of salt

Directions:

Put all of the ingredients into a tupperware container or container with a lid. Shake to combine and then add to the salad. Toss well.

Finally, add the avocado/lime juice to the salad. Toss one final time and then garnish with some toasted sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Kentucky Derby Bourbon Sweet Potatoes.

May 3, 2012 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Potatoes, Side dish, Vegetarian 9 Comments

In honor of the 38th running of the Kentucky Derby, Hilary from the awesome food blog Baking Bad is hosting a virtual Derby party. She has asked some friends to pop by and bring a Kentucky Derby-inspired dish and I was so happy to oblige with my sweet potato creation. 🙂

Ingredients:

3 enormous sweet potatoes (or you can use 5-6 large sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 c of light brown sugar
1/2 c of butter
3/4 c of bourbon (I used Jim Bean)
1 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of nutmeg, ground

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Place all of the peeled, chopped sweet potatoes in a glass 13×9 pan. In a sauce pan over medium heat, add all of the other ingredients and bring to a boil. Whisk the ingredients as they cook. Once boiling, pour the liquid mixture over top of the potatoes. Bake for 50 minutes or unit the potatoes are fork tender.

— Knead to Cook

Organic pea soup.

May 2, 2012 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Soups 2 Comments

Okay pea soup. I’ve never, EVER, been a fan. I love peas and can eat them all day long but pea soup… eh! Well my youngest daughter asked me to make it tonight. I was quite shocked but had to indulge her request, as I always do when my skinny minnie asks for a special dinner. It was super easy to make and quite yummy. Healthy. Tasty. Paleo-friendly (minus the cheese she topped the “display” soup with. I’ll definitely make it again.

Ingredients:

Olive oil for the pan
1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
3.5 c of low sodium, organic chicken broth
3 lbs of organic frozen or fresh peas (I used Cascadian Farms frozen)
1 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper

Directions:

Add a drizzle of olive oil to your Dutch oven over a medium flame. Once hot, add the diced onions and cook for about 5 minutes or until translucent. Then add the remaining ingredients and turn up the flame until the broth boils. Once that occurs, turn down the flame to low and simmer the soup for 10-12 minutes.

If you have a hand immersion blender, puree the soup in the Dutch oven. If not, ladle small batches into your blender and puree. Continue working in batches until all of the soup has been pureed. Pour the soup back into the Dutch oven and simmer until served.

We topped our soup with shaved parmesan and served it with breadsticks and whole wheat seeded crackers.

— Knead to Cook

Homemade Pistachio Amaretto Ice Cream.

May 1, 2012 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Desserts, Ice cream 33 Comments

So the warm weather has arrived, again, here in Pennsylvania. 80’s and quite balmy here as I sit and type this blog entry. I’m so excited about this recipe. I’m not a huge kitchen gadget fan and this is perfect! No ice cream maker, rock salt or drama required! No excuses… this is perfection and let’s face it, I haven’t led you astray yet! 🙂

Ingredients:

1 c of heavy cream (chilled)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
3 tbl of Amaretto
3/4 c of whole pistachios (shelled)
1 tsp of almond extract

Directions:

In your stand mixer, whisk attached, whip the cold cream until stiff peaks form. It will look just like whipped cream 🙂

In a separate bowl, add the sweetened condensed milk, Amaretto, pistachios and extract. Stir to combine and then fold into the whipped cream mixture. Spoon into a tupperware container with a lid and freeze for at least 12-24 hours.

Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook