Tag: chicken thigh

greek salad, chicken prosciutto roll-ups and peach seed cobbler

back to school today and harvest is chugging along… although it froze to minus 4 last night and probably ended most of my garden that I’ve worked so hard on all year… it’s 2020 – that’s not going to make me cry… (hoping the farmer covered my tomatoes like I reminded him to about 7 times)

this greek salad dressing is my absolute favourite and I’ve shared it I believe around 6 times but I just love it… this year we let the tomatoes sit on paper towel (replacing it a few times) so they wouldn’t water down the salad and then put them on top so we could have it sit in the fridge all afternoon without getting watery…

greek salad

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Crisco oil
4 tsp lemon juice
4 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tbsp parsley
2 tbsp minced red onions
1 tbsp minced garlic clove
2 tbsp minced red pepper

Directions:
in a shaker, mix ingredients and shake until completely combined
pour over red, yellow and orange peppers, red onion, feta cheese, romaine lettuce and tomatoes

I’ve been excited to try this out for the farmers and it is a little finicky to get them all made up (notably if your farmer tells you supper for 14), but again you can do these up a few hours early if need be and let them sit in the fridge…

for these rollups, it worked out perfectly to use 1 package of Costco chicken thighs, one package of Costco prosciutto and one bag of Costco asparagus… (this is not a paid sponsorship from Costco… but I am open to offers)

the mix of all these good flavours with the dijon mustard is fabulous

I did these on my bbq – but you have an option to fry them as well… if you are bbq’ing them, keep an eye out so you don’t burn the asparagus ends

I think that the sage would taste better fried so if you are just doing this for your family, I might try that option… our sage this year was fantastic and I couldn’t wait to use it for this

chicken thigh prosciutto rollups

Ingredients:
Rollups:
1 pkg boneless chicken thighs from Costco
1 pkg prosciutto from Costco
Dijon mustard
kosher salt
ground black pepper
1 bag asparagus from Costco
22 sage leaves (or however many you need for the rollups)
Sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine (or more chicken broth)
2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
if doing on the bbq, preheat the bbq
if frying and then putting in oven, preheat oven to 400 degrees
have the ingredients out so you can assemble
place chicken thigh out and season lightly with salt and pepper
using a spoon, put a dollop of dijon on the chicken and then with another spoon spread over the thigh
place 2-3 asparagus on the chicken and then roll up around the asparagus
roll once slice of proscuitto around the chicken and place a sage leaf on it
secure with a toothpick
set aside in a dish and continue until you have rolled all of the chicken thighs
place, covered, in fridge until you are ready to cook
if on the bbq, place on grill and flip once… check to see if they are cooked through
for the sauce, in saucepan roast the garlic cloves, add the broth and wine and cook down
add the lemon juice at the end and serve over the chicken rollups after they are bbq’d
if you are frying and then putting in oven, place chicken in frying pan with the olive oil (don’t overcrowd) and fry on both sides, placing in a dish when done
after frying all of them up, add garlic cloves, broth and wine to the pan and cook down
add the sauce to the pan and place in oven until cooked through
add the lemon juice at the end before serving
remove the toothpicks if you are a nice person before serving – or serve like I did and have your son stab himself twice with the hidden toothpicks

I like to use chicken thighs for this as opposed to chicken breasts because the flavour is just so much ‘more better’… I think I need to go back to school as well…

this recipe was inspired by the classic goose recipe everyone uses… and I recently used on the boys geese breasts they brought home… it’s the goose breast with flavoured cream cheese if you have it and jalapeño slices wrapped in bacon… I now add dijon mustard to these as well because I am obsessed with that flavour…

my family is now going to think the only way to eat anything is to wrap it in proscuitto or bacon…

I served the chicken rollups with some mashed potatoes I had made up earlier and these garden carrots my daughter did up…

which leads me to thinking she should only go to school in the mornings and help me cook in the afternoons… she’d love that idea

for dessert – I used some of the peaches my mom had just brought out for me, but fresh peaches is also great for cobbler… I actually didn’t have a recipe for this and just “winged it”… so I have no recipe to show you…

I know I made a bit of a sauce with the peach juice from the cans, adding some tapioca starch to it… and I used oats, almond flour and whatever else was in my freezer along with butter to make the cobbler topping…

my daughter thought it was awful that would couldn’t send out ice cream with the cobbler… it is essential to have with a cobbler but the farmers had to go without…

happy happy back to school everyone and happy freezing cold harvest!!!

have you ever compared yourself to Kate Hudson

Kate Hudson and I share a birthyear…  1979…  that’s not where the comparisons end… blonde – check… three kids (2 boys and 1 girl) – check… amazing mothers (her’s a strict Buddhist and mine a strict Christian) – check…  love for stretchy, yoga style clothing – check…

this is where the comparisons start to take a bit a curve… she seemed to find a way to make money from her love of stretchy clothing…  I seem to lose money with a similar love for the stretchiness…

as I’m sitting in my hotel room in the Home Inn and Suites Airport – Regina, SK, I was scrolling through my Instagram and saw that Kate’s whole weekend was devoted to the Avenger movie “End Game”…

I don’t get very jealous very often…  but when I realized she was able to – with basically the same life as me – dedicate an entire weekend to a movie it made me question everything about my life…

and if she posts on Sunday that they just ‘got over’ their private screening of Avenger’s End Game (as I couldn’t even get tickets today and scraped together three for tomorrow but we are all sitting separately in the theatre and I am row 1)  (oh, and my mother-in-law who is in a different part of Saskatchewan tonight with my oldest boy stood in line for over 1 hour to get tickets for her and him only to be told as she was fifth in line that they were sold out)…  I feel like I need to recap my first thought – so, if Kate Hudson even mentions on Sunday that she is now ready to slowly, lazily go from their private screening of ‘End Game’ to a relaxed viewing in their media room of the most important Game of Thrones episode in history… I might – I just might – delete her from my Instagram…

salmon and strawberry grain bowl salad

Ingredients:
– Pickled Onions:
– spiralize one red onion (or use a mandolin to thinly slice)
– 1 cup apple cider vinegar
– 1/2 cup red win vinegar
– 5 tbsp sugar
– 1 tsp salt
– 1/2 tsp yellow mustard seeds (optional)
– 1 (8 oz) fillet wild-caught salmon
– 1 heaping cup cooked quinoa
– 2 cups arugula, chopped
– 1 cucumber, chopped
– 1 small pkg strawberries, chopped
– 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
– Dressing:
– 1 lemon juiced and zested
– 1/4 cup olive oil
– 1 tsp dijon mustard
– 1 tsp maple syrup
– salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
– place spiralized red onions in a non-reactive bowl with vinegar sauce for at least 30 minutes
– place salmon fillet on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper
– turn broiler on high and broil salmon for 6-8 minutes or until cooked through
– allow to cool
– in a mixing bowl, combine quinoa, arugula and dressing
– to assemble place quinoa and arugula on the bottom
– add the cucumber, strawberries, pickled onion, goat cheese and salmon
– serve room temperature or cold

Avengers tickets aside…  it did make me think – are we all the same?  Kate Hudson and I? you and whoever you think is your equal?

and I quickly came to the conclusion – NO – what a stupid question… Kate Hudson does not have to deal with the neighbours I have in this hotel tonight while my daughter has spiked a fever… Kate Hudson would have a doctor to call to get meds for her little Rose… not have to make her go the night with a terrible sore throat…  while listening to the neighbours bang their door and not make any sense…

Kate Hudson doesn’t have to meal plan on the weekend and plan to hit up Costco so she can cook for farmers all week – and try to get her kids to baseball and hockey…  (now I feel like I’m bullying Kate Hudson… and I don’t want to… I love her… her and I are the same)

so  – NO – we aren’t all the same…  even if we have basically the same birthday… my mom and Oprah turned 50 the same year…  I remember because my mom was mad I didn’t throw her a bash like Oprah’s… (now I’m getting why I compare myself to Kate Hudson)

spiralized scalloped potatoes

Ingredients:

– 3 lbs peeled, russet potatoes (about 5 medium potatoes)

– 1 cup heavy cream

– 1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese

– 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling

– 1 head garlic, minced

– 2-3 shallots, sliced

– salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

– preheat oven to 375 degrees

– grease baking dish with cooking spray

– using an inspiralizer or mandolin, thinly slice the peeled russet potatoes

– keep the sliced potatoes in cold water so they don’t brown

– in a mixing bowl, combine cream, shredded cheddar, Parmesan, garlic and shallots

– add the spiralized potatoes to the cream mixture

– if using a mandolin, stack potatoes in the baking dish and our cream mixture onto it and repeat until you’ve used all potatoes

– sprinkle with salt and pepper

– cover and bake for 35 minutes

– remove from oven, uncover potatoes, sprinkly more Parmesan on top and continue to bake for an additional 25 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender

– remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving

now – do you ever know if someone truly loves you unless you are poor with them?

or unless you have to work really hard with them – through good times and bad – to build a farm and a family and do it in hotels that have slamming doors and terrible breakfasts?  (sorry – it was)  

one thing farming together will teach a family is how to love each other – and how to go through hard times and times apart and busy April/May’s…

and our absolute favourite times – during all of this work and sports and pushing ourselves – is our Sunday evenings where we get to sit together and watch Survivor or Amazing Race or Blacklist…  and then of course the special Sunday’s we get to watch Game of Thrones (adults only) (although the 17 year old has read all the books)

crispy chicken thighs in mushroom sauce

Ingredients:

– 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

– 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

– 2 tbsp unsalted butter

– 8 oz sliced cremini mushrooms (or more if you are like me!)

– 4 garlic cloves, minced (or more!)

– 2 shallots, minced

– 1/2 tsp thyme, ground

– 1/2 cup dry white wine

– 2 tsp Dijon mustard

– 1 cup low sodium chicken stock

– 1/2 cup greek yogurt

– salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

– preheat oven to 375 degrees

– place large skillet or frying pan on medium-high heat – once hot add olive oil

– season chicken well with salt and pepper

– add chicken to frying pan – skin side down

– sear for 5 minutes

– flip chicken and cook for and additional 5 minutes

– remove thighs from skillet to a baking dish

– melt butter in frying pan and saute mushrooms, garlic and shallots for 4 minutes

– add thyme

– place mushrooms in baking dish

– deglaze pan with white wine

– pour yourself a glass of wine

– stir in mustard and stock, lower heat and simmer until reduced by half

– stir in yogurt and add salt and pepper if needed

– pour over chicken and mushrooms

– bake for 15-20 minutes until chicken is fully cooked

which brings me to my son having to cook with me again – thank you school projects – and watching Vladimir Guerrero Jr. play in Toronto for the first time tonight…

he mentioned that his first bat, his first ball – it all is going to his dad…

so I guess that is the ONLY thing we have in common with successful, rich, famous people…  is we have a bond that our family matters the most…  whether it is Goldie Hawn or Donna Reed (not the famous Donna Reed by the way)

but I bet it is easier to enjoy each other if you have private viewings of “End Game” or get paid to wear stretchy fabric…

strawberry oat crumble bar

Ingredients:

– 2 cups rolled oats

– 2 cups all-purpose flour

– 3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar

– 1/4 cup sugar

– 1 tsp baking soda

– 1 tsp cinnamon

– 1/2 tsp ground ginger

– 1 tsp kosher salt

– 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

– 10 oz strawberry jam

– 1 cup chopped strawberries

– zest of one lemon

Directions:

– preheat oven to 350 degrees

– line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper and cooking spray

– make the crumble: combine oats, flour, sugars, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt

– cut in the butter cubes, then use fingers to incorporate butter – it should be crumbly

– scoop two thirds into the baking dish and press down

– spoon jam over the bottom crust

– add strawberries and lemon zest

– cover with crumble and gently press the crumble into the jam mixture

– bake for 35 minutes or until bubbling and done

– let rest for at least an hour or longer so it sets