Roast Chicken Breasts with Garbanzo Beans, Tomatoes, and Paprika

12 Jan 2010 3 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking Tags: , , , , ,

This one is simple. You prepare the goodies, mix them up and then put them in the oven and Voila! Dinner is Served 🙂 I liked the colors as well. I served this with my go-to brussel sprouts but I am sure you could also serve this with rice to sop up the yummy sauce.

Roast Chicken Breasts with Garbanzo Beans, Tomatoes, and Paprika
Inspired from Bon Appétit
4 servings

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, pressed
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt or Greek yogurt
  • 4 chicken breast halves
  • 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
  • 1 12-ounce container cherry tomatoes
  • 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided

Preheat oven to 450°. Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Pour 1 teaspoon spiced oil mixture into small bowl; whisk in yogurt and set aside for sauce. Place chicken in a 9×13 baking dish. Rub 2 tablespoons spiced oil mixture over chicken. Add beans, tomatoes, and 1/2 cup cilantro to remaining spiced oil mixture and toss. Pour bean mixture around chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until chicken is cooked through, about 20-30 minutes (depending on how thick your chicken is). Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cilantro. Serve chciken with bean mixture spooned over it and serve with yogurt sauce.

Sweet Potato Fries with Raspberry Dipping Sauce

10 Jan 2010 3 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Go JETS!

Game Day at my house is always an event! I don’t always make fun and fabulous foods but I try to. This one was so perfect and yummy! On these kind of days I can appreciate the short prep time so we can just sit down and enjoy ourselves. I always love making a sauce like this because not only is it amazing but it is so bright and gorgeous too!

The inspiration for this dish was from one of the great NYC vegetarian restaurants, Gobo. When I was younger I would order their Yam & Yucca fries that always came with a yummy raspberry dipping sauce. I haven’t ordered french fries anywhere in years, so this was such a pleasure to indulge in! I love taking something classic like that and updating it with a healthy twist! Deelish!

Sweet Potato Fries with Raspberry Dipping Sauce

3 to 4 sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 bag of frozen raspberries
1/4-1/3 cup agave

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray or lightly grease a large baking sheet. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them in 4 slices lengthwise. Then cut east piece into 1/4-inch wide strips. Place them into a large bowl and add the oil, salt, and pepper. Toss gently to coat the potato slices well and spread them on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake until the potatoes are lightly browned and crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, 25 – 35 minutes. Make sure to rotate them once halfway through. While potatoes are baking; combine the frozen raspberries with agave until smooth in a food processor or blender and pour into a serving dish. When the potatoes are done serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Raw Sweet Potatoes

Roasted Butternut Squash, Pumpkin, Pear Soup

06 Jan 2010 3 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , ,

MMM! Super creamy and tasty soup! It is soooo cold outside! There is nothing better in this weather than a deelish bowl of warm soup. And this one is super good and really low-fat. The flavors also undeniable wintertime, love that! I used sour cream for garnish to mix in, but you don’t have to. Actually, since there was lots of leftovers, I have been enjoying this so much without the addition of the sour cream and it is so good! This soup is super delightful on its own 🙂 Make this one soon, it is sure to impress.

Roasted Butternut Squash, Pumpkin, Pear Soup
6-8 servings

1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into 2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt and ground black pepper
3 leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned well and chopped
2 Bosc pears, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup port
7 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (from can)
1 large sprig fresh thyme plus some for garnish
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 cup reduced-fat or vegan sour cream,  (optional)
3 tablespoon chopped crystallized ginger

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a large roasting pan, combine the squash and carrots with the oil and salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes, then add the leeks and pears. Toss together and continue to roast for another 30 minutes.
  2. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately add the wine and port. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bits and vegetable from the pan. Carefully, transfer the vegetables mixture to a large pot. Pour in the broth and add the thyme sprig, grated ginger and pumpkin puree, bringing the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour.
  3. Remove the thyme sprig and puree the soup with an immeserion blender or standing blender.
  4. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Dollop with sour cream, if desired, and sprinkle with crystallized ginger and chopped thyme leaves.

RAW Red Pepper Curry Soup

05 Jan 2010 3 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

This is another recipe that I have made many times and just LOVE!! Sorry for not sharing before today! I can’t say it enough, but there is nothing easier to make than a raw soup. All you do is take the ingredients and throw in your blender. You are eating a deelish and healthy meal in under 5 minutes 🙂

This soup is super creamy with the perfect flavor. Enjoy 🙂 Plus the recipe originated from the Glamour Girl of Raw, Carol Alt! You must check out her book. So fabulous!

RAW Red Pepper Curry Soup
Adapted from Carol Alt’s “The Raw 50” and TheSunnyRawKitchen
3-4 Servings

1 ½ large red or yellow bell pepper
1 apple, peeled
1 small avocado or ½ large one
½ cup basil leaves
¼ cup walnuts
1 green onion
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon curry powder, or to taste
Salt, to taste
Dash cayenne
2 cups water, or until desired consistency is reached

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Raw Snap Peas and Peppers

03 Jan 2010 5 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I love snap peas and peppers! I normally prefer to eat both of them raw (as in plain, straight from the garden, store, fridge) but sometimes it is fun to mix things up. If you do not have a dehydrator just stir-fry them up in the same way. The recipe measurements are approximates as I am more a pour and dash kind of gal 🙂


Raw Snap Peas and Peppers

1 lb fresh sugar snap peas
1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup nama shoyu
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients together to coat vegetables. Marinate for 1/2 to 1 hour.
Spread out on a teflex sheet and dehydrate for 1/2 hr., or until snap peas are tender but firm.

Channukah Pot-luck part 2

22 Dec 2009 4 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , ,

And the fun continues….

Pot-pie is so comforting and deelish. I figured everyone else must love it as much as me, so I made this for the pot-luck. It was vegetarian but I used faux-chicken and I think everyone really liked it.  But I know we were happy to have some as leftovers 🙂

I used a 13×9 glass baking dish, but in the past I have also used 2 8×8 glass dishes so I could bake one and have the other one in the freezer for an easy cooking night. But of course if you are feeding a crowd, go with the larger dish.

It was easier to make both the crust and the filling the night before and kept them separate and covered. So all I had to do the night of the party was roll out the dough and cover the filling before baking. Simple 🙂

Sorry I didn’t get to take pics of the pot-pie sliced up, but trust me, it was gorgeous and scrumptious!

For the 2nd dish I also made my version of Dina’s Chili-lime Ginger Tofu in Coconut Basil Broth with Rice Noodles. I almost never repeat dishes, and I have made this one 3 times in the last month. This is a real winner!

Shannon brought over some gorgeous sides to go with the entrees. Yum! Grilled Aspargus, Citrus & Cranberry Quinoa Salad (love quinoa!!) and roasted veggies. Thanks!!

Channukah Pot-Pie: I sense a tradition starting!

Pasta and Tofu

Asparagus

LOVE quinoa!

Vegetarian Pot Pie
8-10 servings

  • 16 ounces faux-chicken, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Chik’n Strips)
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2/3 cup frozen corn
  • 2/3 cup frozen peas
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter (use Earth Balance)
  • 3-4 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), Cleaned well and sliced
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, minced
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup whipping cream (soy cream)

Herb Crust
Recipe from Bon Appétit
Makes 1 crust

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (earth balance)
  • 1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 6 1/2 tablespoons (about) ice water

Make the crust first:
Blend first 5 ingredients in processor until herbs are very finely chopped. Add butter and shortening. Blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Using fork, mix enough ice water into flour mixture to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into rectangle. Cover and chill 30 minutes. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let dough soften slightly before rolling out.)

Then begin on the pot-pie:

  1. Butter or spray your baking dish. I used a 13×9 dish (as mentioned above you could use 2 8×8 dishes as well).
  2. Bring the broth to boil in a large pot; reduce heat to low. and add faux chicken for 3 minutes. Skim them out using a slotted spoon and cool before cutting and then add to baking dish. Add carrots and potatoes to the broth in pot. Simmer uncovered until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes. Skim them out and transfer to baking dish. Add corn and peas and cook for about 3 minutes. Transfer to baking dish. Strain and reserve broth.
  3. Melt butter in same pot over medium heat. Add leeks, onions and thyme. Sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Stir in broth and white wine. Increase heat to high and bring to boil, whisking constantly. Add cream and boil until sauce thickens enough to coat spoon, whisking frequently, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour gravy over mixture in dish. Stir to blend. Cool 45 minutes. (Filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
  4. Preheat oven to 400F. Roll out crust dough on parchment paper to a rectangle that will fit on top of dish. Using paper as aid, turn dough over onto filling. Trim the dough that is hanging off the sides and tuck dough edge inside dish. Roll out dough scraps to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into fun shapes. I used Magen David’s (Star of David’s since it was a Channukah party) Brush bottom of cutouts with water and place on crust; cut slits in crust to allow steam to escape.
  5. Bake until crust is golden and gravy is bubbling, about 50 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Pre-cooked pot-pie

Cooking the pasta

Check out the haze of steam on the pasta!

Channukah Pot-luck Part 1

21 Dec 2009 5 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , ,

We hosted a Channukah Potluck on the last night of Channukah. It was so nice to be with everyone and share great food! I love having my friends over the house and cooking for them. I have been really into the pot-luck idea lately as you aren’t exhausted when your friends come over after spending the week cooking in the kitchen.  We were really excited to celebrate and so happy that we managed to fit 9 people into out apartment! The joys of city living 🙂

Judith is an amazing cook and makes such great and gorgeous food! This time she made an Insalata Caprese for our first course. I always love that kind of salad, but she made it even more special with the addition of roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and deelish balsamic drizzle. Yum!! Check out her Fig and Goat Cheese Bruschetta from our last pot-luck.

Uploading these pics now is making my mouth water!! Seriously how gorgeous is this dish?!?!?!
Insalata Caprese

  • Assorted Heirloom or Garden Tomatoes (about one large tomato per person)
  • Large bunch fresh basil
  • Fresh Mozzarella. It will be packed in water. About ~3 oz per person
  • Balsamic Glaze (or Balsamic Vinegar)
  • Jar of roasted peppers
  • Bag of sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
  1. Slice tomatoes (tip: put them in the fridge for an hour to make slicing easier) and mozzarella into pieces of equal thickness. Place in a plastic container or cover and let come up to room temperature before eating.
  2. Drizzle balsamic on the bottom of a plate.
  3. Arrange slices of tomatoes, basil leaves, peppers, sun dried tomatoes and mozzarella.
  4. OPTIONAL – For a more filling salad, toss mesclun mixed greens with a small amount of vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.
  5. OPTIONAL TIP #2 – In a blender, combine 2-4 tbsp olive oil with the remaining basil leaves to make an herb oil. Use this to drizzle over the TMB.

Stay tuned for the entrée course tomorrow 🙂

Amazing Roasted Cauliflower

17 Dec 2009 2 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , ,

I love cauliflower. Most of the time I end of making it the mashed way but this is going to be a wonderful alternative. Between Michael and me we ate the entire recipe in one sitting! YUM! This would make a great snack, side dish, or even a meal if you like it as much as I did 🙂

Amazing Roasted Cauliflower

1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 head of cauliflower, trimmed into small florets
extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
sprinkle of crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the cauliflower with a few tablespoons of olive oil and salt, until well coated. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and put in the oven for 15 minutes. While the cauliflower is in the oven, use the same bowl you mixed the cauliflower and oil and add a little more oil, the breadcrumbs, garlic and crushed red pepper and mix. Take the cauliflower out of the over after 15 minutes and rotate the pieces and sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture on top. Return the pan to the oven for another 10 minutes. Serve and devour  immediately.

Crock-Pot Oatmeal

14 Dec 2009 7 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

I know you had all heard me profess my new-found love for breakfast but I haven’t posted one in a while. For the last couple of weeks I have been making Crock-Pot Oatmeal. As you know I am always cooking up a storm in my kitchen, so to have this one be super easy really takes the pressure of breakfast off me 🙂 What I do is throw all the ingredients in the crock pot on sunday, let it do its thing and then refrigerate them in perfect portions for the week. Love it! This really couldn’t be easier and there are so many versions to play with! The one below is this week’s breakfast but I will list addition as well.

Crock-Pot Oatmeal

1 cup of steel-cut oats
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 brown rice
5 cups water
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup agave

In a crock-pot, combine the oats, quinoa, rice, water, raisins and salt. Turn on high for 2.5 hours or slow for 6 hours. About 1.5 hours in, stir and recover. Once the oatmeal is finished cooking add the sweeteners of your choice. Enjoy 🙂

Additions or substitutions

  • apples, chopped (before cooking for baked apples or after for crisp apples)
  • dried fruits (goji berries, cranberries, chopped figs, etc. )
  • berries (after cooking)
  • other grains (wheat berries, barley, buckwheat, cornmeal, etc)
  • sweeteners (honey, stevia, date sugar, etc.)

Multi-grain Crusted Chicken with Roasted Veggies

13 Dec 2009 1 Comment

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , ,

This is a super easy one to throw together. My husband loved it! I am sure this would be great for kids as well if you use chicken tenders instead of breasts, such a better version than the fried chicken fingers out there! This would be great with a sauce or on its own. You could always play with the mixture and add spices as well. I love that I mixed the mayo with mustard to cut the fat in half. Michael does not like the taste of mustard, but he said he couldn’t taste it at all, which is perfect! It adds all the moisture you need while cutting the fat.

As usual I doubled the recipe so I could freeze these in individual portions, but I wrote it out for more functional use 🙂 But feel free to do what I did, they froze perfectly!

I always make my own breadcrumbs but to keep this extra simple just buy a good store brand. But I find making them is just as simple 🙂 What I do is toast about 4 slices of multi-grain bread (we keep it in the house, so it is really convenient). I then let the slices cool a bit before cutting the edges off and tossing the pieces into the food processor. A couple of pulses and I have bread crumbs.

Multi-grain Crusted Chicken

  • Olive oil for brushing
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 1/2 cups multi-grain bread crumbs
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Pat the chicken breasts dry and season with the salt and pepper.
  2. Blend together the mustard and mayonnaise and coat the chicken with the mixture.
  3. Pour the breadcrumbs onto a dinner plate, or equivalent and roll the chicken around on it to cover them.
  4. Place the chicken on the baking sheet and cook until cooked through 14-25 minutes (depending on how thick your chicken is)

I love roasted veggies! Of course, my beloved brussel sprouts found their way into this one 🙂 I could eat a dish like this all year-round but it just feels right in the fall/winter. Super simple, yet all the goodness and nutrition of the veggies. Pearl onions are one of my favorites too. I used fresh ones for this recipe, but to keep it simple and easy just buy a frozen box of them and toss it in.

As usual, I encourage you to play around with the recipe and substitute your favorites!

Roasted Veggies

1 pound baby carrots
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
1 1/2 cups pearl onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine all the veggies with the olive oil in a large baking pan. (9×13 is the best for this)
  2. Place in the oven and stir half way through.  Roast are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes total.
  3. Season with salt and pepper and Enjoy!

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