Cuban Chicken

An earthy spice rub marries well with the bright citrus marinade! Enjoy.

creative noshing

I have been practicing yoga for three years now and I am still in the beginner classes, but life is about the journey. I have to accept where I am at and trust that one day, the beginner classes will seem easy to me and I will know when it is time to move on.  Anyway, today in yoga class, my instructor brought up the idea of complimentary contradictions.

In yoga, for example, we have to put our bodies through positions that may seem contradictory, in order to get freer and more open. I guess you could apply that way of thinking to all parts of life, such as last night, when I returned home from the grocery store starving. These are my weak moments when I want some fatty deliciousness, instead I fed myself something more complimentary to our new goal of practicing moderation. This flavorful chicken is great…

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BBQ Chicken

BBQ chicken is one of my all-time favorite dishes. My husband makes this one and it comes out juicy, slightly charred, and slightly sweet. Great combo!

creative noshing

One of my favorite ways to eat chicken is a simple brined chicken, grilled and finished with a mopping of BBQ sauce at the end. So simple, yet so good. Many of you will break out your grills for the Fourth of July celebration. If you are still looking for a crowd pleaser recipe, this would be a winner.

BBQ Chicken

BBQ Chicken

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Pan-Roasted Chicken With Honey-Thyme Sauce

A slightly sweet pan roasted chicken. So yummy and worth a try!

creative noshing

Looking for new and healthier recipes to use in my day to day life, I was drawing up recipes that I didn’t really want to try. I wanted something new and innovative, something that was healthy and delicious and didn’t feel like a penance when I ate it. When you think of food movements and innovative cooking, an American city that may come to mind is San Francisco, CA. I perused their local online paper, the San Francisco Chronicle, for some inspiration and came across a pan roasted chicken with drizzle that was low in calories, less than 500 calories per serving. The following is an adaptation of that recipe. I was quite pleased, the sauce lent a tart, sweet component to the succulent and savory chicken. I will definitely be making this again.

Pan-Roasted Chicken With Honey-Thyme Sauce

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Honey-Thyme Sauce

Chicken:

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Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

This recipe is one of my favorites. I love a good casserole and this one is an excellent one. Enjoy!

creative noshing

One of the best ways to use up items sitting in your refrigerator is to make a casserole. Now, I have family members who snub their noses at casserole, but honey please, I don’t have any time for nonsense like that in my house. No, I am not a harsh “you eat, what you get” kinda cook; I put love in there and I would be upset if someone didn’t like my food, so if I am visiting them or vice versa, I don’t try to force casserole down their throats (though I do believe they would like it, if they tried it) but like a good southern girl, I keep my thoughts and opinions to myself. However, some days I thank the good Lord that I married a man who understands and relishes the virtues of a well prepared casserole full of luscious cheesy goodness.

For any casserole, you can substitute pretty much…

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Herb Roasted Chicken

We have been growing herbs on our balcony all summer. They are drenched in the sunshine most of the day and drink in the mist from the fog that blankets the redwood studded mountainsides near our home in the late evenings.

The marine layer,  predictable, but such a beautiful phenomenon for me, someone new to the area. It’s something I can count on, a constant, that helps nourish the vegetation in this area. We all get to enjoy it, marvel at its beauty, drink it into our lungs. Eventually we eat the fresh local vegetation, we consume a little sunshine, a little mist from the fog, the wind that helped it become sturdy and all the elements that helped to build that specific plant, full of nutrients and vitamins just ripe for the picking.

This week, we plucked a few of our fresh homegrown herbs from our planter boxes  and made a delicious herb roasted chicken.  A perfect meal as we are closing out summer and looking toward fall. Enjoy Everyone!

Herb Roasted Chicken

Herb Roasted Chicken with Cornbread Dressing and Sauteed Green Beans

Grilled Chimichurri Chicken

I used my left over chimichurri as a marinade for chicken and it turned out awesome on the grill. The meat was packed full of flavor and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I bet pork and turkey would taste just as delicious with chimichurri as a marinade.

There are days that I am definitely troubled. What is the saying? If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.

Well I have been working towards that peace part of my life as a new years resolution. It takes a lot more effort than one would think, but I can definitely say that in the past 6-7 months I have made some good strides toward defining what I want out of this life.

I am breaking myself of a victim mentality. Sure there are days that I want to sit around all pitiful, feeling sorry for myself, but I can tell you that those days have been fewer and farther between. Being focused on myself today in this moment has made all of the difference in the world. I am making better decisions and receiving much more happiness and joy in my life. I guess I have finally stopped to smell those proverbial roses.

Grilled Chimichurri Chicken 

Grilled Chimichurri Chicken with Sauteed Broccoli and Squash

BBQ Chicken

One of my favorite ways to eat chicken is a simple brined chicken, grilled and finished with a mopping of BBQ sauce at the end. So simple, yet so good. Many of you will break out your grills for the Fourth of July celebration. If you are still looking for a crowd pleaser recipe, this would be a winner.

BBQ Chicken

BBQ Chicken

Chicken Lo Mein

There was a time in my life when I couldn’t wait until ramen noodles were no longer in my pantry, a rite of passage sort of feeling. As if it were one of those predictors on a spreadsheet that indicated that somehow I had arrived into my own, into a life that is better than, other than; that I had parked my behind in that glorious lawn chair and was sipping my mint julep on that green grass on the other side.

Ahh, but what a little grasshopper I was! Things definitely got more complicated as an adult and with adulthood came responsibilities. The simple sack of ramen began to represent the memory of an easier, less complicated life. Now, I keep it in my pantry as a good luck omen and broke some out this week to make an Lo Mein dinner. Enjoy!

Chicken Lo Mein

Chicken Lo Mein

Smoked Chicken from a Grill!

Yesterday, I told you about our effort to smoke ribs with the community charcoal grill. Anytime I smoke meats, I like to put as much meat as possible on the grates. I don’t know, it’s just something in my brain that triggers, between the amount of time it takes and the amount of energy consumed by the charcoal. For whatever reason it just seems right. So we split a marinated chicken down the middle and threw her on the grill to see how she would turn out. I have to say the chicken turned out much better than the ribs with the grill smoking method. The deep mahogany skin only hinted at the beautiful smoky flavors hidden underneath. So if you are up to task, this is a great way to cook chicken.

Smoked Chicken from a Grill

Smoked Chicken from a Grill!

Santa Fe Soup

After this week, with one of my grandmother’s passing, I am certainly in the comfort food state of mind. However, it won’t do me or anyone else any good if I do a double back flip into a sea of bad eating habits. Luckily, one of the most comforting meals for me is a nice bowl of soup and soup can easily be done in a healthy manner. This soup is one of those that my mother made me as a kid that I have adapted into my own recipe, substituting ground beef for grilled chicken and adding in loads more vegetables to boost the healthy benefits of the soup.  It is yummy and soothes the soul.

Santa Fe Soup

Santa Fe Soup