Recipe: Chicken, Broccoli, and Almond Stir-fry with Rice

During my grocery shopping trip yesterday, I decided to throw caution to the wind and just grab whatever caught my eye, rather than buy based on already picked out recipes. I bought asparagus, broccoli, quinoa, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and roasted almonds, among other things, knowing that I could easily find ways to work them into dinners this week. Looking into the fridge and pantry tonight, I pulled out the newly purchased broccoli and roasted almonds, plus a handful of other ingredients, and whipped together a quick and easy stir fry that was so delicious.

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 10 minutes (plus a little extra time for the chicken to marinate)
Cooking time: Approx. 20 minutes for the rice, 10 minutes for the stir fry
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch wide and 2 inch long strips
• 1 large bundle of broccoli (approx. 3 bunches, or 3-5 cups), cut into florets (or 1 large bag of frozen broccoli florets)
• 2 cups dry white rice (plus any ingredients needed to cook it)
• 1/2 - 2/3 cup whole roasted almonds, roughly chopped
• 1 onion (or 1 bunch of green onions), sliced into thin rings
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Peanut oil (enough to lightly coat the bottom of a pan)

Chicken marinade

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. mirin or sherry
• 1 tsp. oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp. grated ginger

Sauce

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp. mirin or sherry
• 2 tsp. oyster sauce
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp. grated ginger
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch

Directions
Mix together the ingredients for the marinade in a small-to-medium bowl, then add in the chicken and stir to coat. Put the bowl in the fridge while you do your other prep. work. Bring a medium pot of lightly salted water to a boil and quickly cook (about 4 minutes) the broccoli, then drain it, and return it to the pot with cold water and ice to stop any residual cooking. Combine the ingredients for the sauce, whisk together, and set aside. Cook the rice according to package instructions (the brand I use calls for a little water, salt, and butter, and the rice cooks for about 20 minutes). During the last 10 minutes the rice is cooking, heat a little peanut oil in a large, deep skillet or a wok over medium-high heat. Add in the onion and garlic to the skillet and cook for just a minute or so, until the onion starts to brown slightly, then add in the chicken (try not to pour too much of the marinade in with it). Cook until the chicken is just barely cooked through, then toss in the almonds. Drain the broccoli, then add it to the skillet and stir everything to combine. Make sure the chicken is cooked through, but tender. Slowly pour in the sauce and cook until it's slightly thickened (2-5 minutes). Serve the finished stir-fry over rice.

This dish is flavorful and easy to prepare—perfect for weeknights or a casual weekend meal. The crunchy almonds are slightly softened in the heat and blend perfectly with fresh broccoli and tender chicken. The soy and oyster sauces in the stir fry sauce add a savory, salty-meaty taste ("umami"), while the sherry and honey add a touch of sweetness for balance. Fluffy white rice is the perfect thing to pull it all together.

Recipe: Lemon Chicken and Asparagus Pasta with a Creamy Goat Cheese Sauce

Yes, yes, I know...this sounds a whole lot like a recipe I shared just a little while ago, and really, it's kind of like that recipe, version 2.0. While that recipe was chicken-less and could be pulled together in less than 20 minutes, last night's meal had a little more going on: an actual sauce (as opposed to just straight, melted goat cheese with some seasoning), marinated chicken, and a little extra flavor.

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 15 minutes (plus at least 2 hours for the chicken to marinate)
Cooking time: 10-20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch wide, 2 inch long slices
• 8 oz. rotini, or other short pasta (penne, farfalle, or gemelli would work well)
• 1/2 or a whole bunch of asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup lemon-based marinade or dressing to use to marinate the chicken (I had a lemon-thyme dressing from a favorite restaurant in North Carolina, but you can use something from your local grocery store)* 
• Olive oil, enough to lightly coat the bottom of a pan

For the sauce

• 3/4 cup chicken broth or stock
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp. white wine (cooking wine is fine)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. chives, finely chopped
• Dried sage, to taste
• Dried thyme, to taste
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 4-6 oz. soft goat cheese (buy a log of cheese rather than crumbles, because the log, when pulled apart, will melt better and faster)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Cornstarch and water mixture to thicken, as needed

*If you don't have a marinade or dressing, whisk a teaspoon each of thyme, sage, salt, and pepper together with a few tablespoons each of extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and white wine to create a quick marinade from scratch.


Directions
Place sliced chicken into a medium bowl with store bought or homemade marinade/dressing and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours (any less, and it just won't have a lot of flavor).
In a small pot over medium heat, whisk together the olive oil, chicken broth, and white wine and cook until reduced by about 1/2. Add in the garlic (if you want, you can lightly saute it first, then add it in), chives, lemon zest, and seasonings (thyme, sage, etc.). Crumble the goat cheese into the mixture and whisk it in until it's melted and combined. Slowly pour in the heavy cream, whisking constantly as you add it in. Season more as needed, then reduce heat to low. If the sauce seems thin, add a little cornstarch-and-water mixture to thicken it. In the meantime, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, then add the pasta and cook according to package instructions. When the pasta has about 5 minutes left, add the asparagus to the pot and cook the two together until the timer runs down. While the pasta and asparagus are cooking, heat a little olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, then add the chicken slices and cook until golden brown on both sides and cooked through. Season as needed. When the pasta and asparagus are done, drain and return to the pot, then toss the mixture with the finished goat cheese sauce. Add in the chicken, and toss to combine. Serve with a sprinkling of fresh basil or chives if desired.

This dish is light, fresh, and flavorful—perfect for a warm day or a quick weeknight meal. Lemon and goat cheese are a match made in heaven, and the addition of herbs and white wine help accentuate the flavors. Tender chicken and crisp asparagus add texture and flavor to the dish and help round it out.

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry with Hoisin Sauce and Wasabi Smashed Potatoes

I was prompted to "make something you and your dad will like" by my mother, who had a luncheon today and was uninterested in anything much for dinner. I really didn't want to go out for groceries, having just gone out yesterday for a quick trip, so I took a look through the pantry for some inspiration. A tube of unopened wasabi paste on the shelf and a bag of red potatoes in the corner led me to tonight's meal, an Asian-inspired dish  featuring fresh broccoli and tender chicken in a sweet-spicy hoisin sauce paired with wasabi smashed red potatoes. It's got varying levels of spiciness all through it, with a little sweet and savory to pull it all together and it's absolutely delicious. The best part, it's a really easy meal to time, meaning it's easy to make it so that everything finishes at the same time.

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 20-30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into thin, 2-3 inch long slices (1-2 inch wide) slices
• 1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets
• 1/4 cup peanuts, roughly chopped, for garnish
• Sesame oil and peanut oil, enough to lightly coat the bottom of a large pan

For the chicken marinade

• 1/2 tsp. ginger 
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. sherry
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

For the potatoes

• 1&1/2 lb. red potatoes, washed and quartered, skin on (I used about 3/4 of a bag of red potatoes because, well, that's all I had)
• 2 tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
• 4-5 tbsp. milk (heavy cream or half-and-half could be used too)
• Wasabi paste, to taste (use more if you really want a kick in your potatoes, but don't go overboard—this stuff is strong; I used about 3 small squirts of the stuff)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Garlic powder, to taste

For the hoisin sauce (makes about 3/4 cup)

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 4 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. creamy/smooth peanut butter
• 2 tsp. rice vinegar
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• A few drops of Tabasco sauce (go easy with it, because this can make the sauce really hot if you use too much)
• 1 tbsp. honey

Directions

Mix together the ingredients for the chicken marinade in a medium bowl and let the chicken slices marinate in the mixture in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. While the chicken is marinating, whisk together all of the ingredients for the hoisin sauce and set aside. Place the cut potatoes in a large pot and cover with water until the water reaches about 1 inch above the tops of the potatoes. Bring the pot of water to a boil, once boiling, cook them for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through (to test doneness, stick the tip of a pairing knife into a potato—if it pierces the potato easily and easily slides in and out, they're done). Bring a smaller pot of lightly salted water to a boil and cook the broccoli florets until just barely cooked though, about 3 minutes. Drain and return to the pot, then add cold water and some ice to stop the cooking process. While the potatoes are cooking and the broccoli is cooling, heat a splash of peanut oil and sesame oil over high heat in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook over until lightly browned and no longer pink in the middle. Drain the broccoli and add it to the chicken; reduce to medium heat. Stir in the hoisin sauce and toss to combine. Let the whole mixture cook until heated through. Drain the potatoes, and while the chicken and broccoli mixture is cooking, smash the potatoes with a masher or a fork. Add butter, milk, wasabi paste, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the potatoes and mix to incorporate (don't over mix or the potatoes will lose their fluffiness). Serve the finished chicken and broccoli mixture alongside or over top of the wasabi smashed potatoes. The excess hoisin sauce from the pan is great on top of the potatoes.

This dish is spicy, sweet, peanut-y—absolutely delicious! The peanut butter gives the hoisin sauce a rich flavor and velvety texture, and the hot sauce in the sauce and wasabi in the potatoes adds a splash of heat to the dish. Broccoli has this wonderful way of soaking up sauces into the flowery tops so each bite is packed with saucy goodness, so it's perfect with the chicken, and the subtle wasabi and garlic flavors in the potatoes makes this fluffy side the perfect backdrop to the rest of the dish.