Blue Apron ~ Chicken Paillard and Olive-Raisin Sauce

April Fool's Day 2018.  Wow!  It's been a long time since I have been cooking.  Back to home cooked meals for a few weeks.  Tonight I made Chicken Paillard with Olive-Raisin Sauce.  The recipe also called for a warm fennel and potato salad, but since hubby doesn't eat potatoes, I switched it out for a red pepper rice and quinoa mixture.

Paillard is a French technique; the chicken breast is pounded into a thin piece, which is then cooked.  The Olive-Raisin Pan Sauce over the chicken breast was fabulous.

•      1 oz. Castelvetrano olives, pitted and roughly chopped
•      2 clove garlics, crushed
•      sliced white bottoms of 2 scallions
•      1/4 crushed red pepper flakes
•      1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
•      1 1/2 tbs golden raisins
•      2 Tbs Verjus

After cooking the chicken breasts in a fry pan, leave the browned bits (frond) in the pan and add the olives, garlic, scallions and red pepper flakes.  Cook on medium-high for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  If the pan seems dry, drizzle a bit of olive oil to the mix.

Add the raisins, verjus, white wine vinegar and 1/4 cup water.  Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.

Serve over the cooked chicken.

     

Blue Apron ~ Thai Chicken Curry

I am back to cooking again!  Tonight a made a wonderful dish of Thai Chicken Curry with Carrots and Bok Choy.  This dish combined mildly yellow curry paste with coconut milk with sautéed pieces of chicken breasts.  This was served on top of Jasmine rice.  I served this in a bowl, but the rice absorbed much of the curry-coconut sauce.  The end result was delicious!

5 Stars

Made:  Christmas Dinner

Blue Apron ~ Chicken and Honey-Glazed Peach

Tonight's meal was a tasty dish  of chicken topped with fresh peaches sautéed with honey, vinegar and just a touch of spicy red pepper.  The meal was paired with wilted spinach and coconut-infused  mashed sweet potato.  Yummy!

Made:  July 3, 2017

4 Stars

Blue Apron ~ Chicken and Napa Cabbage Salad

For a hot summer night, nothing is better than a nice, hardy salad.  Tonight's meal was a Chicken and Napa Cabbage Salad with Cucumber, Asparagus and Cashews. The salad had a Chinese twist, as the vegetables (cabbage, carrots and cucumbers) were marinated in a sesame oil and rice vinegar dressing.  The chicken was cooked in a miso-paste and soy sauce, which added a nice flavor.  The salad was topped with blanched asparagus and cashews.

Made:  June 17, 2017

4 Stars

Blue Apron ~ Persian-Style Chicken and Crispy Rice

I was really looking forward to tonight's dinner of Persian-style chicken and crispy rice with summer squash, currants and lemon yogurt.  I was not disappointed.  This dish has so many textures and flavors and is so delicious.  

The chicken was sautéed in a Persian Spice Mix.  Then the squash and onions were sautéed.  This was added to the chicken as well as chopped almonds.

While the chicken was cooking, I prepared the rice.  After all the water had absorbed, half of the rice was placed on a cooking sheet and baked until dry and crispy.  Then all the rice was combined, along with the currants, which had been marinated in lemon juice.  I didn't have currants, so used raisins instead.

The dish was topped with yogurt.  Delicious!

Made:  June 10, 2017

4.5 Stars

Persian Spice Mix:

     Ground Cardamon

     Ground Cumin

     Ground Turmeric

Blue Apron ~ Za'atar-Spiced Chicken

Tonight's meal was an Israeli-inspired chicken dinner.  Za'atar is a spice common in Israeli foods, the chicken was coated in a za'atar-flour mixture and pan seared.  It was then placed atop Israeli couscous to which roasted Brussels sprouts and whole almonds had been added.  That combination alone was delicious.  The chicken was topped with an aromatic pan sauce made with pink lemon, garlic, shallots and garlic.  Marvelous!

4 Stars:

Made: April 17, 2017

Blue Apron ~ Chicken Meatballs and Fregola Sarda

Made: March 25, 2017

3 stars

Blue Apron ~ Seared Chicken and Mashed Potatoes

Okay, so I substituted quinoa for the mashed potatoes.  The seared chicken, however, was delicious.  I think the secret was before I floured the chicken thighs, I seasoned them with Pinot Salt.  The chicken was very tasty and was accompanied with kale, cremini mushrooms and verjus.  Hubby really enjoyed this dish.

Made:  January 24, 2017

4 Stars

Blue Apron ~ Chicken Paillard

This dish was made using the French technique of pounding, called "paillard" the chicken into a thin piece for quick cooking.  The chicken was served a potato and fennel combination with a touch of lemon.  Before serving, the chicken was topped with an olive, garlic and butter sauce.  The meal was good, but not one of my favorites.  

Made: January  18, 2017

3 Stars

Blue Apron ~ Sesame Chicken

I loved this Sesame Chicken with Bok Choy and Jasmine Rice.  The dish was very easy to make and was very tasty.  The dish used both sesame oil and toasted black and white sesame seeds.  The bok choy was wilted, then added to the seared chicken, along with the soy grace, rice vinegar and sesame oil.  The jasmine rice was then topped with the chicken.  My only complaint is there wasn't enough!

Made: January 1, 2017

5 Stars

Blue Apron ~ Seared Chicken and Sage Gravy

Made: December 26, 2016

Blue Apron ~ Marsala-Spiced Chicken

This was a very colorful meal of Marsala-Spiced Chicken with Kale and Lime Rice.  I think this is the first time I have had kale alone as a vegetable and not mixed with something else.

The chicken was inspired by classic Indian marsala-spiced tomato sauce.  It also was flavored with garlic and ginger.  It was a very nice touch.  I didn't make it quite as spicy as the recipe called for.  Any spice was tempered by the lime Jasmine rice.

I nice quick and easy meal.

Made: November 22, 2016

4 Stars

Blue Apron ~ Pan-Seared Chicken

Tonight I made Pan-Seared Chicken with Roasted Honeynut Squash and Apple.  I would never have thought to combine and roast squash, apples, potato and shallot together.  It was delicious.  Today was the first real "Fall" day we have had, so this meal of autumn vegetable was just perfect.  The chicken was topped with a toasted almonds, sage and butter sauce.  I liked the crunch of the almonds, but the sage was a bit too strong.

4 Stars

October 23, 2016

Blue Apron - Seared Chicken and Carmelized Vegetables

Made: September 21, 2016

4 Stars

Blue Apron ~ Spicy Hoisin Chicken Stir-Fry

Tonight's meal was Spicy Hoisin Chicken Stir-Fry with Baby Bok Choy and Sesame-Ginger Cucumber Salad.  It was very easy to bring together.  The stir-fry was made with a nice sweet and spicy sauce as it was a combination of Hoisin and Sambal Oelek.  It was accompanied by a cucumber salad marinated in a sesame-ginger dressing.  Very tasty.

Made:  September 10, 2016

5 Stars

Blue Apron ~ Seared Chicken and Fregola Sarda

This meal of seared chicken and fregola sarda with salsa verde, corn and tomato, was very tasty.  The fresh corn added a nice crunch texture to the fregola sarda pasta.  The chicken was topped with a fresh salsa verde made with parsley, garlic paste, capers, and parmesan cheese.

The recipe called for boneless skin-on chicken breasts, but I had 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, so have chicken left over.

4 Stars 

Made: August 39, 2016

Blue Apron ~ Lemon Chicken and Green Beans

This dish of Lemon Chicken and Green Beans with Parmesan-Roasted Summer Squash and Potatoes did not sound all that thrilling.  I was also afraid that the dish would be too lemony.  Instead, I found it very delicious.  

The potatoes were small diced and roasted along with the summer squash, which was cut into rounds and topped with minced garlic and parmesan cheese.  The green beans were blanched then coated in a pan sauce of lemon and butter and the frond from the cooked chicken.

4 Stars

Made: July 25, 2016

Blue Apron ~ Za'atar Chicken Burgers and Oven Fries

I rather liked tonight's meal of Za'atar-spiced Chicken Burgers with Feta Labneh Spread and Garlic Chips.  Hubby, however, was not crazy about this meal.  In fact, this is the first meal that he didn't finish.  Not sure what he didn't like about this meal.

Za'atar is a middle-eastern spice blend.  The blend that came with this meal was more bland than I am accustomed to.

3 Stars

Made: July 19, 2016

Blue Apron ~ Sweet Chili Chicken

Tonight's chicken meal was bit-sized stir-fried chicken breasts served with green beans and tinker bell peppers.  They were sautéed in a sweet chili sauce and served atop coconut-jasmine rice.  In addition to being tasty, it was also very colorful!

Made July 11, 2016

4 Stars

Blue Apron ~ Fried Chicken and Kale Slaw

For a super easy meal, this Fried Chicken and Kale Slaw fits the bill.  It was also served with Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges and Hot Honey.  The Hot Honey is "hot" due to the addition of red pepper flakes.  It makes an interesting taste sensation when drizzled on the roasted sweet potatoes.  We both loved this dish.

5 Stars

Made: July 5, 2016