September 26, 2010

Curry chicken salad

I actually never had curry chicken salad until last year. Once I tasted it, I thought that it would be a really easy thing to replicate at home and be great for lunches and for using up leftover roasted chicken. Well, leftover roasted chicken is what I had so I decided to make some of this up to have in the refrigerator for a tasty lunch. Luckily, I also had some cilantro that was begging to be used up, too. You can eat this on a sandwich or wrap, with some crackers, or even just put a scoop on top of a bed of greens. It's a flavorful salad and it has a nice combination of tastes and textures that really make it interesting.

September 19, 2010

Chicken, apple, caramelized onion, and cheese quesadillas

Chicken apple caramelized onion and cheese quesadillas.

I got the idea for these quesadillas when I saw this recipe. As soon as I saw them, I wanted to make them. I'm really getting into fall and fall flavors now that the weather is cooler and the grocery and farmer's market are full of apples, grapes, squash, and all the other wonderful fall produce. 

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I changed these quesadillas up a bit from the recipe that inspired them. I layered in some smoked mozzarella, cheddar, apple-wood smoked bacon, chicken, caramelized red onion, and sweet apple. They would be a great way to use up leftover chicken, too. This made four quesadillas and could easily be adjust to make more, if needed. I also made a spicy chipotle-yogurt dipping sauce (recipe below) for these and used some jarred salsa verde I had in the fridge as a second dipping sauce. Both went well with the flavor combination in these smoky-sweet, fall-inspired quesadillas.

 Finished autumn quesadillas on a platter.

September 18, 2010

Sweet potato pancakes with cinnamon butter

Stack of sweet potato pancakes.

These pancakes are hearty and full of fall flavors. They are perfect for a cool morning or as part of a weekend brunch. 

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I made these after an early morning visit to our local farmer's market and they were delicious. I make a lot of different types of pancakes (just click on the pancakes label if you don't believe me), but I had never made sweet potato ones before. They turned out really nicely. 

Sweet potatoes are such a great, healthy food, too. I had a can of organic sweet potato puree in the pantry, but you can roast or boil a medium-large sweet potato, remove the skin, and mash it up if you would like. 

I served these pancakes with some toasted pecans, a cinnamon butter and some real maple syrup we picked up at the farmer's market. The recipe will serve about 4 people. 

September 17, 2010

Celery root and apple puree

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I'm always trying to come up with more vegetarian dishes and lately I've been trying to come up with more interesting vegetable side dishes. Celery root is a something that I have never eaten until yesterday. It's one of those things I would always look at in the grocery store and wonder what in the world I would do with it. I have seen celery root in many recipes both online and in cookbooks. I decided that when I saw them return to our grocery store this fall that I would give it a try. I am glad that I did. The taste of the celery root is just like celery stalks, but stronger. I just bought my first bag of apples for the season and had a bunch of garden fresh sage so that's what I used in this side dish. This recipe will serve about 4 people as a side dish. 

September 14, 2010

Moroccan stewed chicken

Plate of Moroccan stewed chicken.

Moroccan stewed chicken is a recipe I got from a co-worker. He was eating leftovers of this for lunch one day and it smelled so good. I asked him for the recipe and I have made this many times since then. It's originally from Men's Health magazine. 

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I'm sharing the recipe that I've tweaked a bit. This meal is similar to a vegetarian version that I've posted before: Butternut squash Moroccan stew. I like both variations a lot (the chicken more for summer and the squash more for fall/winter). 

Another great thing about this recipe is that it is a different way to use up some of your summer zucchini harvest. This recipe serves two with leftovers and can easily be adjusted to serve more. You can also adjust the cayenne to your liking. This recipe will make a medium-spicy dish. 

September 12, 2010

Carrot-zucchini-ginger muffins

Sliced open carrot zucchini ginger muffins.

I made these muffins on a cool Sunday morning. Ginger is one of my favorite flavors. I love carrot cake and zucchini bread as well. So, when I saw these muffins I knew they'd be a great way to use up some of the zucchini and carrots that are taking over our refrigerator. These muffins have a slight, warm ginger flavor in the background that works well with the warm cinnamon. The combination of carrots and zucchini is a nice change. It's also really pretty because you get flecks of orange and green throughout the muffins. Using vegetables in your muffins is a nice change up from the usual fruity muffins, too. I changed the recipe a bit and those changes are reflected below.