What's Cooking with Jean
Saturday, April 18, 2009 Chicken Salad



4 medium chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on or boneless breasts)
olive oil
salt and pepper
about a quarter of a medium sweet onion (or red onion if you prefer)
½ C chopped celery (2 medium stalks)
¼ C chopped almonds, toasted
¼ C chopped green or red pepper
¼ C dried cranberries or cherries
handful of chopped Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon sugar or honey
1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Rub some olive oil over the chicken breasts and season them with salt and pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes, depending on how thick the breasts are. The skin does not need to brown; you just want the meat to cook through. Let cool slightly, then peel away the skin (if you didn’t do skinless) and shred the meat. Drizzle the chicken with a bit of the juices from the pan, just to keep it moist.

Combine the onion, celery, peppers, cranberries, almonds, parsley, and shredded chicken in a large bowl.

Make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and sugar. Stream in the olive oil, whisking vigorously, until combined.

Pour in the vinaigrette and toss to coat.
Refrigerate--better the next day!

This is adapted from this recipe using ingredients I had in my fridge.

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Posted by Jeannie :: 11:45 AM :: 1 comments

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Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Some great sites!

Just thought I'd pass out some blogs/sites that I've been enjoying lately to inspire cooking....

Rarely "healthy" or light but ALWAYS delicious: The Pioneer Woman

Texas Monthly's Food index

Check out the other sites with this one, especially Apartment Therapy for any of you city dwellers

And once again, the one I use probably every other day Epicurious.com

and new to me...this

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Posted by Jeannie :: 2:47 PM :: 1 comments

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Monday, April 13, 2009 Warm Spinach-Orange Salad

a delicious, simple side dish

1 package fresh spinach, stems removed
1 orange, peeled and sliced
1/4 C sliced almonds (toasted, if you prefer)
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp orange juice
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp honey

Combine spinach, orange and almonds in a serving bowl.

Bring vinegar, juice, oil and honey to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour over spinach mixture, and toss. Serve immediately.

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Posted by Jeannie :: 6:15 PM :: 1 comments

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Friday, April 10, 2009 happy spring



Posted by Jeannie :: 8:00 AM :: 0 comments

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