Firstly, I thought I’d mention all of my cooking is gluten-free! After many months of jumping through medical hoops, I’ve recently found out I’ve been suffering from celiac disease. Luckily, I possess decent cooking and baking skills, so converting my cooking repertoire hasn’t been much of a chore. Hopefully some celiac sufferers will find my blog and be inspired to try some new recipes!
Secondly, I’d like to say thank you to all of my wonderful followers. Your kind words and support mean so much to me! Thank you, also, for being patient with me as I get everything off the ground. I’m still working out kinks in eventually filming my food blogs. For now, written blogs will have to do!
On with the cooking!
Today’s menu
Main dish- Tangy and spicy lemon, garlic &red pepper chicken breasts, stuffed with mushrooms and just a pinch of fresh parmesan.
Side dish- Quinoa and sweet pear salad with a maple balsamic vinaigrette. The salad also features unsalted toasted cashews, baby spinach, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes and cucumber .
Today’s helper- My handsome man, Nick. He chopped up the garlic- a task I dislike!
Nick says " I poison your food, yesss" In a russian accent
Today’s apron- Vintage blue cotton number with cherries!
Todays cooking- companion cocktail- Sparkly Screwdriver (Orange juice, vodka, soda water) with cherries, of course! Nick's beverage is a Dark n Stormy- ginger beer with dark spiced rum.
Lets get started!!!
Stuffed lemon, garlic &red pepper chicken breasts
You will need:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
4 tbsp olive oil
The juice of 1 lemon
3 garlic cloves , minced.
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 handful sliced mushrooms
Fresh parmesan to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper and salt to taste
Medium sized pyrex dish
Tinfoil
Preheat oven to 400 C
Combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, red pepper flakes , salt and pepper in pyrex dish. Mix well.
Slice into chicken breasts, as if you were cutting a submarine sandwich, but don’t cut all the way through. As you can see I did this pretty sloppily… I was hungry and in a rush. Don’t judge!
Stuff in some mushrooms, and a sprinkle of parmesan if you’d like , and “close” the chicken back up.
Place chicken into pyrex dish with olive oil and spices. Spoon some of the mixture over the top of the chicken. If you’d like it with a little extra spice, sprinkle some more red pepper flakes ontop of the chicken.
Cover pyrex dish with tinfoil and bake for 45 minutes.
I removed the chicken at 40 minutes, sprinkled with a little extra cheese, and broiled for the last 5 minutes to make the cheese a bit crispy.
Quinoa and sweet pear salad with maple balsamic dressing.
You will need:
1 cup quinoa (I use Bulk Barn's dried organic quinoa)
½ cup chilled chickpeas
1 large sweet pear- peeled, cored and chopped
1 handful cherry tomatoes.
½ cucumber, chopped
2 handfuls baby spinach
¼ cup of unsalted roasted cashews (or any other nuts. Pecans or pine nuts are also great!)
For the dressing:
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. gluten-free organic balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. pure maple syrup (don’t use that crappy fake overly sugary Aunt Jemima stuff, it is too thick and will ruin your salad. I use President’s Choice pure maple syrup, it is light perfect for this. If you can’t find pure maple syrup- go without!)
Cook your quinoa! I used 1 cup quinoa added to 2 ½ cups of boiled water ,simmered for 20 minutes, stirring often, until all of the water has absorbed. Remove from heat, cover and let sit while you chop your veggies.
Once everything is chopped, add to large salad bowl.
Dump your quinoa into a strainer and run under cold water for a few minutes. Shake it about to make sure all the water is out.
Add the quinoa to your chopped veggies.
In small bowl mix your olive oil, maple syrup and balsamic vinegar.
Add dressing to salad, and toss well.
Plate chicken and salad, serve and enjoy!!
Before I bid you all adieu and bonne-appetite, I want to give a quick shout-out to my lovely, talented and kind friend Lisa over at Weezi Clothing!
check her site here http://www.weezi.com/
For those of you looking for cute retro aprons , beautiful retro dresses, or some enviro-friendly upcycled kitschy pieces like bags- check out Weezi at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Weezi Tell em Lenora sent ya!
Until next time!!!
XOXO Lenora XOXOX
