Basil Thai Chicken Pizza

Confession: I don't particularly enjoy writing recipes. I love cooking food. I love photographing food. I really, sincerely highly dislike methodically measuring and recording the components of my creations. Doing so cramps my style. It ruins my rhythm and flow the kitchen, and takes the joy out of cooking.

Having said that, I present to you a recipe that is a compilation of educated guesses. Proceed with caution, but know that it can't be ruined if you decide to take my lead and forgo the measuring cups. This freedom can feel liberating.

Oh, and I guess I should introduce the meal itself. It's a "middle ground" meal that appeals to Jay's obsession with pizza and my obsession with making sure he eats his vegetables. It's a portion-controlled, Asian-inspired meal that happens to be a nice change from the tomato-based, cheese heavy American favorite.

The Edibles:

• 1 chicken breast
• 1/3 c. orange juice
• 2 T. sake
• 3 T. low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 T. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 T. dried cilantro (or a small handful of fresh cilantro)
• 2 whole wheat pitas
• 2 c. fresh spinach
• 10 baby carrots, cut into quarters
• 1/2 c. part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
• small handful of basil leaves, sliced into strips (optional)

The Making:

1. Place chicken breast in a gallon size plastic bag with orange juice, sake, low-sodium soy sauce, ginger, garlic, red pepper, and cilantro. Massage the meat in the bag to ensure marinade is evenly dispersed. Place on a plate and refrigerate at least 30 minutes up to overnight.
2. Once marinaded, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Coat sauté pan lightly with olive oil cooking spray and place over medium heat. Using tongs, remove the chicken from the bag and place in the pan, reserving the marinade. Cook about 5 to 10 minutes on each side, until chicken is no longer pink and has a bit of brown color. Remove from pan and slice into thin strips.
4. Using the chicken pan, sauce spinach and carrot sticks with a little olive oil spray and a sprinkle of garlic powder. Cook until wilty, about 3 minutes.
5. While the chicken cooks, pour marinade into small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and allow the liquid to reduce. This will take about 5 minutes.
6. If you want to extend your pitas, carefully tear each into two round pieces. Otherwise, you can use a whole pita as a crust. Either way, toast each pita in oven for 3-5 minutes, until cripsy. Remove from oven. Top with chicken, spinach and carrot mixture, and a light sprinkling of mozzerella cheese. Drizzle marinade over the top of the pizza.
7. Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Serve topped with basil.

No Worry Crock Pot Curry

Curry powder. You may not have guessed it by looking at it, but it can pack a potentially life-altering, health-improving punch. It's a complex combination of herbs and spices that generally includes coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, and red pepper, but will sometimes be supplemented with additional ingredients such as ginger, garlic, asafoetida, fennel seed, caraway, cinnamon, clove, mustard seed, green cardamom, black cardamom, mace, nutmeg, long pepper, and black pepper.

So what makes curry powder so great? Well, many of its ingredients have been linked to improvements in health indicators. What am I talking about? Let's look at an example...

Why tumeric rocks:

• It may help relieve joint pain experienced by people living with arthritis because tumeric contains more than 24 compounds that fight inflammation in the body.
• It may help those living with digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), because tumeric can aid digestion and reduce disturbances such as heartburn, bloating and gas.
• It may help those with high cholesterol, because studies have shown that tumeric may assist in the reduction of LDL levels (bad cholesterol), thereby helping prevent atherosclerosis (the buildup of plaque in the artery walls)

(For more information about the benefits of curry powder and tumeric, visit here and here.)

Fueled by my love for easily prepared, tasty, nutrition-packed meals, I set out to create a healthy crock pot curry recipe. The challenge for me was creating a recipe that resembled the classic coconut curry my mom used to make, but was a bit lighter in that it didn't use coconut milk.* I wanted to develop a curry dish that was well-balanced and allowed me to recognize the veggies, chicken, and grain because they weren't completely smothered in sauce. Go ahead, call me a purist. (For a vegetarian version, omit chicken and substitute vegetable broth or water for the chicken broth.)

Speaking of veggies, feel free to add whatever you may have on hand. Some bell pepper strips or cauliflower would be great additions both flavor and health-wise. Serve over a mini grain like rice, quinoa, or cous cous, and top your curry with one, two, or all of my suggestions below. (Before you judge my vanilla yogurt idea, I'd recommend giving it a whirl because I can pretty much guarantee that you'll be just as surprised as I was by its yum factor! Try it!)

The Stuff:

• non-stick olive oil cooking spray
• medium sauté pan
• crockpot

The Edibles:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 medium potatoes, chopped into pieces the same size as your chicken
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 carrots (about 1 & ½ c.), sliced (can use frozen)
• 2 c. chicken broth
• 1 tsp. coconut extract
  *Of course you could use coconut milk in this recipe if that's what your heart desires; substitute 1 cup milk for one cup of broth; omit extract and honey
• 2 T. honey
• 1 T. flour
• 2 T. curry powder
• hearty shake of the following: garlic powder, onion powder, and coriander
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 c. frozen peas, thawed

Optional Toppings:

• 2 T. vanilla yogurt
• 1 tsp. hot sauce
• 2 -3 tsp. toasted flaked coconut
• 1 T. slivered almonds

The Making:

1. Spray a medium-sized saute pan with non-stick olive oil cooking spray. Place pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and on all sides.
2. Doing this quick cook will help seal in the moisture of the chicken and prevent your meat from disintegrating in the crock pot.
3. Place potatoes and onion in crock pot. If using fresh carrots, add at this time. Top with seared chicken.
4. Whisk together chicken broth, coconut extract, honey, flour, curry powder, dashes of spices, and a pinch of salt and pepper (you can add more after cooking). Pour over chicken and vegetables.
5. Cover; cook on high for 3 to 3 & ½ hours or LOW 6 to 7 hours.
6. Add peas and carrots (if you’re using frozen) at this time. Allow the curry to cook for 30-45 minutes on high with the cover removed in order to thicken the sauce.
7. Serve over rice, quinoa, cous cous or whatever else you may have on hand!

Optional topping ideas: a dollop of vanilla yogurt, hot sauce, flaked coconut, slivered almonds.

Kick-off Chicken Bites

It's football season, so what's more appropriate than some buffalo chicken bites? Getting their crunch from an oven bake, rather than deep fry, these babies are a healthy take on the classic fried chicken wing.

Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to spicy foods, so these are a tamed-down version. Of course more hot sauce could be added if you happen to have a stronger palate. With the addition of honey mustard, these nuggets are slightly sweet, but they still have a bit of a kick, so they are a good middle ground that will please a crowd. I served our nugs with some good ol' fashioned corn bread, because I'm fancy like that.

The Edibles:

• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1 T. parsley
• 10 chicken wings (or 3 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks)
• olive oil cooking spray
• 2 T. melted butter
• 3 T. hot pepper sauce (such as Frank's RedHot®)
• 3 T. barbecue sauce
• 1 T. ketchup
• 4 T. honey mustard
• 2 T. worcheschire sauce
• 1/4 c. water

The Making:

1. Place the flour through parsely into a resealable plastic bag; shake to mix. Add the chicken, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour mixture. Refrigerate for an hour if you have the time.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly grease with cooking spray. Remove chicken from bag and place on prepared baking sheet, allowing space in between the pieces.
4. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and appears golden on the outside, about 45 minutes (time will be less if you have small cuts of the chicken). Turn over halfway during cooking so they cook evenly.
5. While the chicken cooks, wisk together the butter and remaining ingredients overhot sauce in a small saucepan placed over low heat.
6. Once cooked, carefully dip the wings into the sauce mixture, and serve!

Zucchini Pasta with Light Basil Cream Sauce

Barry the Basil plant has been whining for weeks, pleading with me to feature him on the blog once again. "But I've grown so big!" he said on Tuesday. "My leaves can offer so much to enhance your cooking!" he asserted on Thursday. By Saturday he'd grown tired of my snubs. "If you don't, I'll wilt!!!" he threatened. Now that got my attention.

So without further ado, please try your hand at this delectable dish where basil stands center stage. I have to respect the hard work devoted by Barry and my devoted botanist (Jay) in the deliverance of extremely flagrant leaves, as there is no arguing that this meal would not compare in awesomeness if dried basil were to be substituted. A zing of lemon juice and slight cheesiness in the light cream sauce stand in as secondary supporting flavors that provide perfect contrast and support for the basil essence.

The Stuff:

• small saucepan
• large saucepan

The Edibles:

• 3/4 c. skim milk
• ½ c. cottage cheese
• 1 Laughing Cow wedge
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (or the equivalent in powdered or fresh
• ¼ c. fresh basil, loosely packed
• 2 T. lemon juice
• ½ c. water
• ½ T. whole wheat flour
• 1 egg white
• ¼ c. shredded mozzarella (or Italian blend) cheese
• ½ grated parmesan cheese (or a blend with Romano cheese)
• 1 zucchini squash, cut into matchsticks
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
• 6 oz. whole wheat thin spaghetti, cooked al dente

The Making:

1. Drizzle 1 T. of extra virgin olive oil into a large saucepan. Place over medium heat. Add zucchini matchsticks. Cook until they are soft and slightly yellowed in color. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a blender or food processor, whirl together first 6 ingredients for 10-20 seconds.
3. Pour the blended sauce into a small saucepan. Pour in ½ c. water, flour, and egg white. Place pan over medium heat. Slowly bring sauce to a rolling boil; stir with a whisk constantly. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, add shredded mozzarella and grated parmesan cheeses. Keep stirring over heat for 5 minutes, until cheeses have melted and sauce has thickened.
4. Place large saucepan with zucchini over medium heat once again. Add shredded chicken and sauce. Stir well. Heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until all foods are warmed and sauce begins to boil. Add pasta and stir to incorporate. Heat for another minute or two. Serve warm, topped parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil.

For us, this made 2 sizeable dinners and one small lunch, but I would say that this serves 2. The servings are dependent on the amount of pasta you use and the size of your zucchini squash.

Teriyaki Turkey Burgers

If you have nightmares about smelly, dry turkey burgers, these burgers will turn your world upside-down. Jay has become the teriyaki burger master, and not only do these not smell funky, which a common characteristic of ground turkey, they are way way moist and simply "OMG!"-worthy!!

So where are the "good" pictures of these juicy bad-boys? I know; I know. The ones I've included barely do them justice. I find it hilarious that the only images I have are of them on the grill. Chalk it up to the fact that as soon as they're plated, all I want to do is dive in and enjoy the amazing the meat that just oozes teriyaki goodness. Seeing as we've made these twice in the past month, I have a feeling they'll make a more glamorous appearance in the near future.

The teriyaki we use is special, some might say, "veri veri" special. It's called Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki and it rocks my socks off. If you feel like going all-out, top these burgers with some chopped mushrooms (I prefer portabellas for both in the burgers and on top) sauteed in a little bit of teriyaki. Jay likes his with swiss or meunster cheese, but I'm more of a plain ol' burger kinda gal.

The Stuff:

• medium bowl (for mixing your meat)
• grill (for gillin')

The Edibles:

• about 1 lb. ground turkey breast
• 3/4 c. teriyaki sauce
• 3/4 c. mushrooms, chopped
• 3/4 c. plain bread crumbs

The Making:

1. Preheat grill.
2. In a large bowl combine bread crumbs, mushrooms, and teriyaki sauce. Add turkey to the mixture and form into 5 patties, about 3/4" thick.
3. Place patties on grill, cover and cook on medium heat. Patties should take anywhere between 12-14 minutes to cook. Cut into a thicker patty to ensure that they are fully cooked and not pink.
4. Our favorite way to serve them? On a pretzel roll, topped with meunster cheese and 1/4 c. teriyaki-sauteed mushrooms.

Fiesta Chicken Salad

My love for the Whole Foods salad bar has made a serious dent in my bank account. One of my favorite salads the store offers is the inspiration for this serious salad that is not only totally easy to throw together, but much more economical than its $7.99/lb counterpart.

As far as how many chicken breasts you should use for this recipe, 3 easily make 4 servings, so if you're serving 2, you'll have plenty for your lunches the next day. How you cook the chicken depends on how much work you want to put into this recipe. My method of choice is to cook the breasts in a crockpot for 6 hours on low in enough chicken broth to cover them entirely. Often times I'll add a hearty shake of garlic powder for some extra "umf". I've also been known to purchase a roasted chicken and use half of the meat to make this salad. When we're talking about how much Greek yogurt to use, this again is up to you. Add a bit at a time until you reach your desired level of creaminess, as this is often a matter of strong opinion.

Now, you may be looking at these pictures, thinking to yourself, "Hey, where are these bell peppers Britt speaks of in her list of edibles?" Or you may already be at the stage of creation, looking at the fiesta in your bowl, thinking, "Hey, my salad looks way darker than Britt's... what gives?" Before you start writing me off, I'm a-gonna tell ya that the recipe below is THE way to make this salad. On the day I chose to fiesta-it-up with my camera in hand I happened to be sans peppers and taco seasoning, so I had to make do without the bells and whistles. (Get it? Bells... as in bell peppers... like this salad there's some corn in that joke... sorry...) In lieu of an easy taco seasoning packet I hastily threw in some powdered garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, cumin, and oregano. Of course, you could do that too if you're feeling adventurous!

The Edibles:

• boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 vidalia onion, diced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• Greek yogurt
• 1 packet low-sodium taco seasoning

The Making:

1. Mix together all the above ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Serve in tortilla shells, on a salad, or use as a dip for some chips. Add your favorite fiesta toppings for a real party!

Orange Chicken

I've been craving Chinese/Asian food lately, so this really hit the spot. The highlight of this dish was the orange marmalade, compliments of the $30 breakfast buffet at the Marriot Marquis New York City. I've been wanting to make my own orange chicken from scratch (just so I know what really goes in it), but have been too budget-conscious to pick up marmalade knowing that I will only need just a bit of it and probably won't use it otherwise. This dish is sponsored by the extra special family member that picked up that ginormous breakfast bill!

The marinating step is one that you can easy omit if you're like me and often fail to plan ahead in your meals. Luckily I had the assistance of an extra awesome helper who got home early enough to give the chicken about 2 to 3 hours to soak up some added orange-ness.

You'll see that I served this alongside some homemade vegetable fried rice (another dish I have been craving lately) that contained carrots, peas, and rutabaga. Feel free to compliment this dish with any vegetables you have on hand and some rice (or quinoa) to soak up the sauce.

The Stuff:

• sealable bag for marinating
• small bowl
• whisk (or fork)
• large saute pan

The Edibles:

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1/4 c. orange juice
• 1 T. & 1 tsp. olive oil, divided
• 2 tsp. ginger, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced, divided (or the equivalent in jarred or powdered)
• shake of onion powder
• salt and pepper
• 3/4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 T. red wine vinegar
• 3 T. orange marmelade
• 1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1/2 T. light soy sauce
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 large shallot, minced

The Making:

1. Cut up chicken into bite-sized pieces. Place in a sealable bag to marinade with orange juice, 1 T. olive oil, 1 tsp. ginger, 1 clove garlic, onion powder, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
2. In a small bowl whisk together broth through cornstarch, remaining 1 tsp. ginger and 1 clove garlic. Set aside.
3. Spray a large saute pan with nonstick cooking spray and place over medium heat. Remove chicken from bag and place in saute pan. Discard marinade. Cook chicken for 5 to 7 minutes and remove from pan.
4. Add remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil and shallots to the pan and cook on medium, stirring often. Cook until they begin to brown, about 30 seconds. Whisk the broth mixture prepared in step two and add it to the pan.
5. Bring sauce to a simmer, carefully scraping up any browned bits. Reduce heat to maintain simmer; cook until the sauce is slightly reduced and thickened, 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
6. Add the chicken and return to a simmer. Cook, turning once or twice, until the chicken is heated through and fully coated, about 1 to 2 minutes.
7. Remove from the heat and serve with sauteed vegetables and rice!

Fancy Shmancy Balsamic Reduction Chicken

I still remember the first time I decided to make this… I was living at home with Mo and Mark after moving out of that crazy apartment with the crazy roommate, and I decided I wanted to try to make a reduction sauce. I had never tried my hand at anything like it, bit I would feeling up to the challenge. I’ll never forget those “mmmmms” from that oozed from my parents’ mouths! And all I did was follow a recipe!

This beauty comes from the glorious Cooking Light, where they call it Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Vinegar Pan Sauce. I prefer to call it mother-loving delicious.


I typically serve it with quinoa, but this time you’ll see I served it with rice. To be specific, I used brown basmati rice, which is probably my one of my favorites of the rice world. When it cooks, it gives off this nutty smell that is simply mouth-watering. I like to make it kind of pilaf style, with carrots and spinach, a twirl of extra virgin olive oil, some garlic salt, pepper, coriander, and onion power. Mmmm!



My recipe doubles the reduction sauce, because it is really the BEST PART of this dish. On that note, I highly suggest wearing a dark shirt for the sauce-reducing step, because it does splatter just a bit. If you want to up the fiber in this recipe, you could use whole wheat flour when you flour the chicken (step 4).



This is (yet another) of Jay’s favorites and I have to say it is most definitely one of mine as well. It is pretty intense (as in, I can’t label this post with an “easy” tag). Such is especially true if you’re like me, preparing multiple side dishes at the same time. Nevertheless, I think you’ll agree that all the dish-dirtying is super worth it!


Yields 4 servings (serving size: 1 breast and 2 tablespoons sauce)



The Edibles:

• 1 c. fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 c. balsamic vinegar
• 4 tsp. honey (often times I’ll used 1 teaspoon honey and one packet of Splenda)
• 1 T. butter (real butter is ideal for this one)
• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• enough flour to cover your breasts (chicken breasts… do I really need to clarify that? ;-)
• 2 T. finely chopped shallots (about 1 shallot, though I like these a lot so sometimes I’ll add two or so)
• chopped parsley (optional)

The Making:

1. Combine broth, vinegar, and honey. Set aside.
2. Melt butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over low heat. (I think it works best to use a skillet that is not cast iron or very dark so that you can see when the butter browns in the step that follows.)
3. While butter melts, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. (I always forget to season them, and it still turns out yum-yum yummy. That’s a testament to how much you don’t necessarily need salt!)
4. Place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour; shake off excess flour.
5. Increase the heat of your sauté pan to medium-high; heat 2 minutes, or until the butter turns golden brown.
6. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
7. Remove the chicken from the pan, and place on a platter or pan in a warm oven. Keep the sauté pan warm (on medium to medium low).
8. Add the shallots and sauté 30 seconds.
9. Add the broth mixture, scraping to loosen browned bits. Bring it to a boil, and cook until reduced by half (about 3 minutes).
10. Serve sauce over chicken. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Estimated Nutritional Information:
Calories: 270
Fat: 8g
Protein: 34g
Carbohydrate: 13g
Fiber: 0.2g
Cholesterol: 90mg
Iron: 1.7mg
Sodium: 331mg
Calcium: 29mg