Recipe Review from 9/15/2014

Temperatures continue to dip into the 40's at night, and we're lucky if they get above 60* during the day.  At least we're not poor Tuscon, getting hit with a tropical storm!  Egads...

Weekend was spent down in the Cities.  I did a yoga training session on Friday, then the plan was to celebrate the Husband's birthday and our anniversary.  We ended up here Gasthof Zur Gemutlichkeit for supper on Friday night. OMGosh!  Best German meal I've had in ages!  We got the Bavarian Platter for two and honest to god - it was enough to feed four: (two of each meat) Rouladen, pork schnitzel, porkchops, brats, spatzle, mashed potatoes, red cabbage and kraut.  Leftovers did come "home" with us.  I had packed a cooler so it got filled with ice and the leftovers were just as tasty. 

We did end up fitting in a quick trip to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum on Saturday.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we were so close distance wise!  So much has changed since we were last there 15-18 years ago.  New buildings, new flower displays, fall colors absolutely resplendent against a blue sky.  We even did the 3 Mile Drive which we've never done (did they even have it so many years ago?) and saw some new things.  If I can figure out how to transfer my pics from my phone to my computer, I'll post some picks.  

In the mean time, the Meal Plan! 
Mon: Five Bean Chili
Tues: Five Bean Chili
Wed: Broiled Honey Glazed Chicken Thighs and rice
Thurs: leftover chicken and rice
Fri: Twin Cities!


Five-Bean Chili  (Ckng Lght, Sept 2014)  gluten free, vegetarian
A hearty, yet light, chili really doesn't get much simpler than this.  Bit o'chopping, lots of plopping, plenty of simmering.  Eat.  Or, make ahead, re-heat, eat.

OMGosh...I just realized I completely forgot the canned tomatoes!  Ah-hahahaha!  I didn't even notice!  (snort and giggle!).  Okay, tomatoes aside (pun intended), I subbed hominy for the kidney beans because I don't do kidney beans; I added celery because it's really good in chili, and skipped the jalepeno which actually ended up in another dish.

It was still really good, especially with some hot-out-of-the-oven cornbread. 

Photo from cookinglight.com

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 cups prechopped onion 
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup celery (my addition) 
• 2 tablespoons unsalted tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
• 4 cups stemmed and torn kale
• 3 cups organic vegetable broth
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can unsalted diced tomatoes, undrained 
• 1 (15-ounce) can unsalted black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can unsalted kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can unsalted chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1 (15.8-ounce) can unsalted Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (16-ounce) can unsalted pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1. 1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onion and carrot; sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in tomato paste and next 5 ingredients (through paprika); cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add kale and remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer 45 minutes.

Broiled Honey Glazed Chicken Thighs (MamaEatsClean Blog) gluten free
This came recommended, the picture looked fantastic...recipe was disappointing.  The broiling worked just fine - I did have to reduce cooking time from what she noted.  Mine only took about 15 minutes total, including basting.   The flavor was meh, the so-called glaze a watery mess, and the thighs turned out more greyish than golden brown.   I did serve these over rice and forgot to add some kind of veggie to the plate (it was late and I was tired).   It wasn't that the dish was inedible, it was more flavorless and unappealing visually.  Probably won't make again.

• Marinade - marinade overnight or for at least 4 hours
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp gluten free soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• dash of pepper
• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• Baste
• 1 Tbsp Honey



photo from MamaEatsClean blog

• 1 Tbsp Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

Instructions

1) Mix oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and pepper together and pour over chicken thighs. Put in the refrigerator to marinate. Stir a couple of times to ensure entire thigh is being marinated evenly.

2) Put rack in oven so its is approximately 7 inches from broiler. Turn oven to broil (high) and let preheat.

3) Put chicken in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes on first side. Turn. Bake on second side for 8 minutes. Turn.

4) Microwave honey/apple cider vinegar for 20 second to warm and mix. Baste chicken with honey mixture and bake for an additional 1 minutes. Turn again. Baste and bake second side for an additional 1 minute.

5) Remove from oven and baste again with juices from the pan.

I baked for a total of 20 minutes and they were perfect but adjust for your oven. Serve and enjoy.