Spicy Garlic Cashew Chicken

This chicken was so flavorful!  The combination of flavors was great and it was really easy to throw together. 

Spicy Garlic Cashew Chicken

via C+C Marriage Factory

 

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup cashews

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 jalapeño peppers, stems removed

1 tablespoon lime juice, plus lime wedges for garnish

2 tablespoons water

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

In a food processor or blender, combine cashews, cilantro, oil, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, jalapeno, lime juice and water. Blend to a smooth paste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reserve and a third of the marinade to serve with the chicken. Refrigerate reserved marinade until ready to serve.

Add the remaining 2/3 marinade to a large ziplock bag. Sprinkle the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and place in the ziplock bag. Combine so that thighs are evenly coated with marinade. Place in the refrigerator to allow to marinate for several hours or overnight. Bring the chicken to room temperature before cooking.

When ready to cook, prepare grill. Remove chicken from marinade and place on grill. Grill, flipping, as needed, until golden and crisp. Serve with reserved marinade, lime wedges, and cilantro.

Double Bean Burgers with Avocado Cream

I never really thought I would want to try a bean burger until I saw these posted on How Sweet Eats.  She always makes things look so good, so I asked Corey if they sounded like something he would like and they did so I gave them a shot.  They were so tasty!  The burgers had great flavor, really garlicky and the avocado cream on top was the perfect combo! 

Double Bean Burgers
via How Sweet Eats
makes 6 burgers

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 large egg + 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 whole grain buns, toasted if desired

In a large bowl, mash beans with a potato masher or fork. Add in cilantro, garlic, paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper, mixing to combine. In a smaller bowl, lightly beat eggs and add in 1 tablespoon olive oil and panko, stirring to mix. Add the egg mixture to the beans, and mix thoroughly to combine, bringing it together with your hands if needed. Separate the beans into 6 equal sections and form patties.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil (or as much as you need). Add burgers and cook on each side until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove and serve with avocado cream on whole wheat buns!


Avocado Basil Cream
2/3 cup sour cream
1 avocado, chopped
10 medium basil leaves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of pepper

Add basil and avocado to a food processor, blending to combine. Once somewhat smooth, add in sour cream and blend again until combined. Add in salt and pepper, taste, and season more if desired.  (Note: I couldn't find good looking basil at the grocery when I made these, so I left it out and it was still great!)

Granola

This granola was something I made a few times in the week or two before Reese's arrival.  I was fully anticipating her coming anytime and wanted to have something on hand that would make for a quick healthy snack.  Then I just got addicted and couldn't stop making it!  I've tried making granola a few times before but always ended up burning it.  I cooked this slowly at a low temperature and checked it every 5 minutes to make sure that didn't happen.  This stuff is so good I had a hard time keeping myself from grabbing handfuls of it out of the tupperware.

Slightly adapted from Tasty Kitchen

3 cups Old Fashion Oats
3/4 cups Almond, Roughly Chopped
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 stick Unsalted Butter
1/4 cups Honey (or Agave Nectar)
2/3 cups Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract


Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.  In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, salt and cinnamon and set aside.  In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, honey and brown sugar until the sugar has completely dissolved.  Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.  Pour the butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir to combine until everything is well coated.  Spread the granola mixture onto a baking sheet, leaving a few large clumps.

Bake the granola for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and break up the pieces to ensure even baking.  Place the baking sheet back into the oven for another 5 minutes.  Remove the sheet pan from the oven and give it one more toss to break up some of the pieces and place back into the oven for another 5emove the baking sheet from the oven and let it cool completely.  It gets much crunchier as it cools, so you can then decide if you need to cook it longer.  Store in air tight tupperware container.

Margarita Pizza

I'm finally back to blogging!  Our sweet baby girl is here and is 6 weeks old now!  I have just started getting back in the kitchen in the past few weeks after being generously given so many great meals by our friends and family!  I will try and get back to posting, but they may be a little farther between for a little bit as we are still adjusting to life with a newborn!  Check our family blog for updates on Reese!

Lately I'm finding myself making meals with only one arm free or in under 15 minutes.  I think the thing that works best has been prepping the meal earlier in the day and cooking it later.  This meal was so easy and definitely could fit into any of those categories!  I also loved getting to use up some of the many cherry tomatoes and fresh garlic we grew!

1 refrigerated pizza dough
olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
cherry or roma tomatoes, sliced
fresh basil, sliced thin
mozzarella cheese

Lay out dough and brush with olive oil.  Spread out minced garlic then add toppings.  Bake according to dough instructions.  Yummy!