Chicken Diane

Did you enter my Signpost giveaway yet???  I’m giving away THREE $10 coupons to Allmenus.com…basically any takeout you could want!!

Last week I whipped up a pretty easy and very flavorful dinner!!  I didn’t measure anything out at the time, but for the sake of sharing I am going to guestimate, and I really hope you try it out because it came out SO good!!

Remember back in April when I visited Healthy Habits Kitchen??  And they gave me a Pork Diane dish to take home and cook??  Well we loved that dinner so much that I was determined to re-create it at home. 

I knew the basic ingredients, and just went from there.

I also cooked up some cous cous (which is a super fast side dish to have on hand…I like the Near East brand), and steamed some broccolini I had in the fridge.

Another reason I was reminded to make this dish was that we still have an ABUNDANCE of chives in the garden from last year.  We haven’t really been tending to them much yet this year so they are a little out of control…however this means I also have some pretty chive flowers :)

Chicken Diane
Inspired by Healthy Habits Kitchen

• 2 – 3 chicken breasts cut up into “tip” size pieces (about 2-bite size chunks)
• flour for dredging
• 1 T olive oil
• salt + pepper
• 1/2 cup onion, small dice (or a combo of onion and scallions if you want…I had some scallions on hand)
• zest from 1/2 lemon
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth (more if needed)
• 2 T Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 2 T chopped fresh chives

1.  Wash chicken, and chop into 2-bite size chunks.

Get some flour (about 1/2 cup) ready in a shallow bowl so you can dredge on your way to the skillet.

2.  Heat oil in a large stainless steel skillet to med/med-high.  Transfer some chicken to the flour, coat on all sides, and then place each piece into the pan once the pan is hot. 

3.  Sear chicken on each side for about 2-3 minutes per side, then lower heat to med/med-low and continue to cook until chicken is fully cooked.

You may need to do this in 2 batches depending on how much chicken you have…DON’T crowd the pan!!

Transfer chicken to a plate.  

Now, in a perfect world, you may still have a little oil left in your pan and not have too much browned flour/chicken stuck to the bottom, and in this case I’d say add your onions and sauté.  You could even add another teaspoon of olive oil and do this.

However, my pan needed to de-glaze and it needed it NOW.  So…

4.  With your pan still on med heat, add 1/4 cup of the chicken broth to the hot pan, and de-glaze.  Use a wooden spoon to stir and scrape up all the bits that are stuck to the pan.

5.  At this point, add your onion (and scallions if using).  The broth will reduce enough so the onions will still nicely sauté.  Cook the onions for 3-4 minutes until soft.

6.  Now add the rest of the broth, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard.  Stir to combine.  At this point decide if you want to add another 1/4 cup of broth to create more sauce if you think you need it. 

7.  Finally add chives and lemon zest, cook for another minute.

8.  Then add back in your chicken.  I also added in my steamed broccolini.  Stir around to coat with sauce, and DONE!

Serve with a side dish of your choice!

This seriously had SO much flavor.  Brian and I both loved it!!  Dredging the chicken in the flour also really helped create a thicker sauce at the end.

 

Hope you all had a great long weekend!!  I’m working on the half marathon re-cap!  It was a HOT one ;)

Also had an awesome BBQ at the house later that day…lots to come!!

Giveaway – Your Favorite Takeout!

Happy Long Weekend!

I love this weather! It’s finally FINALLY feeling like summer. I guess technically it’s not summer yet, but it’s Memorial Day weekend and for most people this is the unofficial start of summer :)

I’m going to be ringing in the holiday weekend with my first HALF MARATHON!!!

I can’t believe it’s tomorrow!! Brian and I are heading down to Boston shortly to pick up our race packets and check out the expo :)

I’m actually really glad the race starts at 8am tomorrow morning, because the weather’s only JUST warmed up so most of our long runs have been in much cooler weather…I hope it doesn't screw us up too much.

This week I’ve drank a lot of these…

Mmmm homemade iced lattes. Look how cool the milk looks combining with the espresso and ice!

Most of the time I don’t bother frothing milk just for the topping…but sometimes I do ;)

Some random breakfasts

• 1/2 honey wheat bagel. 1/4 with PB and J, 1/4 with chive cream cheese.


• homemade biscotti

Another day, another latte. This time no foam, but in a beer goblet!

• whole wheat cinnamon raisin breakfast thin


• 1 egg


• 1 slice cheddar cheese


• 1 slice ham

This breakfast sandwich was the bomb.

Yogurt & Berries

Specifically:

• 0% Plain Chobani


• raspberries


• blueberries


• sliced almonds


• drizzle of honey

First peaches of the season!! They aren’t local (but from Georgia!), but man…they were incredible.

You can see how juice it was!! I think a perfectly ripe peach could possibly be my most favorite fruit of all time….at least top 3.

Ok enough randomness.

Some days the most effort you want to put into lunch or dinner is pulling a menu from the drawer and calling in an order.

There’s nothing wrong with that my friend ;)

Signpost.com has offered to do a giveaway for Y&B readers!!

If you’re in the Boston area I would definitely recommend signing up for Signpost! You get daily emails letting you know about deals and bargains all around town. It’s not always for-sale deals like the one I’m giving away, but maybe it’s what restaurant is having half price appetizers or other limited time deals that you may never hear about.

Now for the giveaway!

What could be better than half of at your favorite takeout spots?! For $5, you’ll receive a $10 coupon code applicable to any delivery order from Allmenus.com. Essentially, it’s like getting that next order of sushi, pad thai, pizza or burritos at 50% off. Allmenus.com has partnered with hundreds of restaurants in the city, such as b.good, Elephant Walk, Cafeteria Boston, Modern Pastry Shop and more, so you'll be sure to find a restaurant that fits your cravings.

Three lucky readers will each win one of these deals. If you just can't wait to see if you've won, and want to purchase now, you can view the deal here.

Ways to win (leave a comment for each entry)

• Leave a comment telling me your favorite thing to order for take-out!


• Follow me on twitter @yogurtberries


• Tweet about the giveaway, be sure to mention @yogurtberries and @SignpostBOS


• Mention the giveaway in a blog post

Other important info:

• You do NOT need to have a blog for this.


• But you probably should be local to the Boston area to enjoy the benefits if you win :)

I’ll choose 3 winners on Wednesday June 1st by 10:00 PM EST.

Good Luck!!

Honey Wheat Biscotti

First, some recent eats! 

With the amazing warm weather we’re having this week, I am so excited to once again crave a nice cold protein shake!!  I love shakes, but never want them if I’m feeling the least bit cold. 

I had a somewhat late breakfast yesterday so I whipped this baby up for lunch/snack:

• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 1/2 frozen banana
• frozen strawberries and blueberries
• protein powder
• 1 T of chia seeds!

Refreshing and filling.

Breakfast this morning.

I totally went to the grocery store a little hungry recently.

And with that comes things I don’t need.

I don’t really know what the difference is between these “Breakfast” thins and any other “thin”.

They aren’t bad, but once you toast them they pretty much become crackers.

Still I enjoyed my 100-calorie Breakfast Thin with half butter half cream cheese.

Siggi’s vanilla yogurt with berries on the side.

 

Then it was time to bake!

I blame this on my mom, but more often than not I crave a baked good with my morning coffee (in her case, tea).  I wasn’t always like this, but its just getting worse and worse.  Something about a fresh baked….anything…with a rich cup of coffee…it’s a match made in heaven.

So that is why I try to make my baked goods more wholesome and healthier.

Biscotti is great.  It’s hard, so you eat it slower.  You can dip it in your coffee or tea.  And generally they have less fat, as they don’t need a delicate or moist texture like other baked goods.

These biscotti are made with white whole wheat flour and all purpose flour, olive oil, a little sugar and a little honey.

I wanted to make some with nuts, and some without for a friend.  So before I added any of the mix-ins, I divide up the dough and went from there.

Honey Wheat Biscotti (with nuts and/or dried fruit)
Based on this Ellie Krieger recipe and this recipe.

• 1.5 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 T honey
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• zest and juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 nuts (almonds, pistachios, walnuts…your choice)
• 1/4 cup chopped dried fruit (cherries, cranberries…your choice)
• 1/4 cup white or regular chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 325

In a mixing bowl, combine flours, salt, and baking powder; whisk together.  In another bowl, beat sugar, honey, eggs, oil, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla.  Beat until well combined.

Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, forming a sticky dough.

(here is where I divided the dough into two separate bowls.)

Mix in your nuts, fruits, and/or chocolate.  Use your hands, its easier. 

I did 1 log with almonds

and the other with chopped dried cherries and white chocolate chips.

Can I just say these are the best dried cherries ever! (from Trader Joes)

Shape dough into two logs, approximately 2” wide by 8” long.

Transfer logs to a baking sheet lined with a sil pat or parchment paper.

Baked logs for 25 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack for about 15 min, and reduce oven temp to 300.

Then slice logs into 3/4” pieces on the diagonal.

Place cut cookies back on baking sheet, and bake for 10 min.  Flip cookies over, and continue baking for 8-10 min.

Let cool, and enjoy!  

They are dry like biscotti should be, but at the same time they won’t break your teeth if you try to bite into it! 

You can ever so slightly taste the honey.  I bet Ellie’s original version with pistachios would be awesome!!

Really looking forward to coffee tomorrow morning :)

These were really simple and straight forward, plus I love all the possibilities for mix-ins.  They also made for a nice little gift when placed in a clear bag. 

Biscotti fans out there?? 

Dancing on the Sidewalk

Yes, you read that right!

Today I was part of a Flash Mob!  We performed right in front of the Beehive restaurant in the South End…and it was SO MUCH FUN!!

I found out about it through a Facebook fan page, and then there were some set rehearsals, here and there since the winter, and today it came to life!

It was a pretty random thing to do.  I didn’t know anyone else doing it, and just decided to go to the rehearsals to see what it was about.

I’ve danced my whole life, and I was kind of expecting to see more “dancers” at these rehearsals, but surprisingly it was mostly people with little or no dance experience who just wanted to be in the Flash mob!

It all started at noon today, and since I had to head straight up to NH for another dance rehearsal, I decided to plan a brunch with my bff and my mom before the performance!

We met at Stella, also in the South End.

I opted for the Eggs Benedict…shocking, I know.

Stella Eggs Benedict / English muffin / Prosciutto Cotto / Spicy Hollandaise / Home Fries .

I ordered it with scrambled egg whites, and in turn they put the hollandaise on the side.

It was good!  Not amazing, but good.

However, my mom’s dish and my friend’s were REALLY good!!

Mom got a Duck Confit hash!  I can’t find the official description, but she had it was 2 poached eggs on top.

Jocy got:

Frittata / Chorizo / Sweet Corn / Herbed Ricotta / Home Fries

This was SO flavorful with the chorizo, I really liked this!! 

I kind of had food envy since I liked theirs better, but my nerves were kicking in from my impending public performance so I wasn’t all that hungry.

Then…it was time.

I had my mom record it on my phone.

Things to note:

• My mom recorded it…therefore it’s very “Bridget” focused haha…typical stage mom ;)
• The very beginning it cut off…it started with a little duet by the 2 people that organized it
• If you want to see LOTS more videos of the whole thing…check out the Facebook page!!
• Um, my pants felt like they were falling down a little…not used to dancing in jeans haha!  So you may see some adjustments
• It was a little cramped…
• Ok, I’ll stop giving excuses…just me being critical of me!

Ok, here’s another one I stole off YouTube…better view of the whole thing.

 

Another fun note!  Camera men from Channel 7, 4, FOX, and NECN were there and I was front and center in the clip on Channel 7’s news this evening!!  So cool!!!

Can’t wait for the next one!!