Super Bowl Memories & Leftovers

The Super Bowl has always been an important event for me.  Each year, on the first Sunday of February, my family would go to my uncle’s house for a Super Bowl party extraordinaire.  We’d order both pizza and Chinese food, make bets on the game (I’m talking a toonie, MAX) and spend quality time together as we cheered for our favourite team and watched the halftime show.

In February 2004, my uncle lost his battle with cancer.  Since then, Super Bowl Sunday has been bitter sweet.  It’s the time of year I miss him most, but it brings me comfort to carry on the tradition that I had always cherished as a kid.  I never miss a Super Bowl party and will continue to carry on the legacy of the first Sunday of February. 

This year, all the necessary elements were in place.  I made a bet with my dad and my younger brother that the Patriots would win (thank you fiancé for steering me in the losing direction!), invited some of my favourite people over, and cooked a Super Bowl feast that was sure to please.

I always like to make traditional game time foods, and this year’s menu was no exception: guacamole, bean dip, salsa and slow cooked pulled chicken sandwiches and of course, beer.  Dee-lish! 

(*side note: Madonna was amazing.  I don’t care what the 10,000+ TPS (tweets per second) had to say.  Madonna=awesome. Period. )

We went to bed that night with full bellies and another awesome Super Bowl memory to add to my collection.  

…We also ended up with a fridge full of leftover pulled BBQ chicken.  

And so, last night’s dinner took leftover chicken to a whole other level:  Pulled Chicken Hash.  Yes, that’s correct.  Potatoes, meat and a runny egg…what could be better??? 

Pulled Chicken Hash

2 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato diced

• 2 cup of leftover BBQ pulled chicken

• 2 eggs

Directions:

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Place potatoes in a large heated skillet and sauté until golden brown.  In the meantime, prepare easy-over eggs in a separate skillet.  Plate potatoes on two plates, top each with 1 cup of heated BBQ pulled chicken and place the easy-over egg on top. Serve with a side or roasted brussel sprouts and enjoy! 

 Try it. You’ll thank me.  

My Beef With Chicken

I've got beef with chicken.

Not only do I detest handling raw chicken, I don't enjoy cooking it, cleaning up after I cook it and I actually don't really enjoy eating it all that much.

Chicken is a staple food for us meat eaters and I realize that it is an excellent source of lean protein.  I do eat chicken and I try really hard to enjoy it, but when I cook it on my own I usually stop at two bites. Why you ask? Because I am a crazy person. I am so crazy paranoid of salmonella poisoning that I always overcook my chicken to the point where it is as dry as the Sahara Desert and the only person who will actually eat it is my loving boyfriend.  I'm pretty sure he only eats it out of fear that I will think he hates my cooking and won't cook for him anymore.  But he does eat it, and for that I am thankful.

Seeing as working out and trying to build muscle goes hand and hand with consuming pounds of protein, I have made a real attempt to eat more chicken.  My solution is not to cook it, but rather to purchase pre-made grilled chicken breasts and incorporate them into all my recipes. Salads, fajitas, wraps etc...these pre-made, prepackaged and not at all dry chicken breasts have become a staple in my refrigerator.

I know, all you foodies are gasping at the horror of pre-cooked chicken in air tight packaging that has an expiration date of months from now.  I know how gross that sounds.  But, I have to say that President's Choice brand Blue Menu pre-cooked chicken is actually pretty good.  The only draw back to using this super fast, salmonella free alternative to cooking chicken on your own is that it is a little high in sodium.

So, I am going to try to make amends and put my beef with chicken behind me.  As I finish off at my old job (today!) and have a few days off before I start my new job, I plan to cook a fabulous chicken dinner...with real, fresh chicken.

I will keep you posted...

Super Grain: Quinoa for Every Meal (3 Awesome Recipes)

It's been a while since I've shared a recipe...or anything healthy for that matter.  I have been feeling invigorated and inspired since my bout with the two-week-plague and have resumed my healthy lifestyle. I feel back in shape and after several weeks of not grocery shopping, I am now stocked up with all the essentials.  Oh, and I got my taste buds back! Phew.

I usually plan a week's worth of dinners before I go grocery shopping, and on this week's menu, a very delicious quinoa dinner.

For those of you who are like "quin-what?"- quinoa is an ancient grain from South America and contains essential amino acids making it a great source of protein (shout out to vegetarians). It's also a great source of fiber (I am a big fan of fiber), iron AND it's gluten-free (shout out to Celiacs). Quinoa has a light and fluffy texture similar to couscous and can be used as a substitute for risotto, in salads and even as a breakfast food.

I found an AMAZING breakfast quinoa recipe on ridiculouslyhealthy.com (a great website for healthy recipes!):

Quick & Easy Chocolate Quinoa

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of quinoa
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• sweetener (or sugar) to taste

Directions:
Combine quinoa, water, cocoa and vanilla in a saucepan with a lid.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or as long as it takes for the quinoa to absorb all the liquid.  Turn off heat, fluff with a fork and place quinoa in a bowl.  Top with sweetener (or cinnamon) and enjoy!

This recipe is a great way to get that "hit" of chocolate in the morning and it's super healthy! (calories: 180, dietary fiber: 4.2g, protein: 6.7g).

Not only is quinoa an awesome substitute for oatmeal in the morning, it also makes a great lunch.  You can pretty much sub out lettuce for quinoa in any of your favourite salad recipes, but here's one I really enjoy:

Village Greek Quinoa Salad

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup diced red pepper
• 1/2 cup diced green pepper
• 1/2 cup diced cucumber
• 1/4 cup diced green onions
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives
• 1/4 cup diced red onion (optional: I leave this out because I don't really like raw onions.  Your co-workers might not like them either if you are bringing this salad to work for lunch)
• 2 ounces of light feta cheese

 Salad Dressing:

• 1/4 lemon juice
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Directions:
Combine quinoa and broth in a saucepan, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and transfer to a large salad bowl to let cool. Once quinoa is cool, stir in veggies and cheese.  Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the quinoa mixture. Enjoy!

And for tonight's dinner:

Mexican Inspired Quinoa

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup diced green pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cup cooked diced chicken
• 3 tbs of salsa

Directions:
Combine quinoa and broth in a saucepan, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a for. Add veggies, beans and chicken.  Stir and top with cilantro.  You can also sprinkle goat cheese on top if you'd like (I usually do). Enjoy!

This dinner is packed with protein and is the perfect post-workout meal.

I can't wait for dinner tonight!

Not Your Average Jerk

A few months back, I attempted a jerk chicken recipe.  It turned out mildly disastrous.  I marinated the chicken in a very aromatic jerk spice blend for 24 hours...probably about 23 hours too long.  The chicken turned out so over-seasoned that I was breathing the spicy fire of jerk for days.

In an attempt to rectify my jerk experiment and actually do justice to this delicious Caribbean inspired spice blend, I decided to revisit jerk.  This time, no marinating.

I love Mexican food, and I especially love fajitas.  We have a fajita night at my place almost once a week and I usually come up with some variation of a Mexican fajita. This time, I decided to make jerk chicken fajitas. I really like Caribbean food and I really like fajitas, so why not combine the two???

Thankfully they turned out much better than my last attempt at a jerk chicken dish, which is why I am happy to share this recipe.

You can buy a jerk spice blend at any grocery store, but I prefer to make my own.  The ones you find in the store usually contain sugar and are very high in sodium.  You can make this blend by combining the below spices. You can store the mixture in an old school film container (pre digital camera era), or small Tupperware.

Jerk Seasoning Blend:

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tbs onion powder
• 2 tsp ground thyme
• 2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp garlic power
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Jerk Chicken Fajitas: 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground chicken (you can use turkey)
• 2 tbs of Jerk Seasoning Blend (half for the chicken and half for the veggies)
• 1 Roma tomato chopped
• 2 bell peppers (I used green and red) cut into strips
• sliced mushrooms
• 1 yellow onion
• the juice of one lime
• fresh pineapple
• tortilla shells (I like to buy whole wheat or flax shells- they usually have more fibre than the traditional corn shells)

Directions:
Saute veggies until they start to soften.  Add half of the Jerk Seasoning Blend.  Once the veggies are almost done, squeeze half of the lime juice into the pan and saute for a minute longer. add pineapple pieces and set aside.  Meanwhile, in a separate pan saute the chicken until it starts to brown.  Add the other half of the Jerk Seasoning Blend and the chopped tomato and continue to cook until chicken is done (juices will run clear), then add the other half of the lime juice.  Place some of each mixture on a tortilla and top with shredded lettuce or whatever fresh veggies you like (If you want to cut the heat a bit, you can top with a dollop of low-fat sour cream). Fold and enjoy!