What I Do When Not Working

Cook! So, hopefully to my family and friend's delight, I will often share what I've recently been fixing up. I'm pretty proud of what I concocted last night for Michelle and my parents, so here goes my first post. These recipes both came from the magazine Garden Fresh Recipes, which I just picked up from the grocy store the other day. It's wonderful.

Main Course: Fajita Chicken Breasts with Sliced Sweet Potatoes
Prep: 25 Minutes Cook: 35 Minutes
Makes: 4 servings

4 Chicken Breasts with (or without) bone, skinned [recipe called for 8 thighs, but we had boneless skinless breasts we'd picked from Jenehr Farms on Saturday]
1/2 t. (sea) salt
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1 T. Olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 T. grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth [we actually left this out since it's hard to find free range broth, and I just added more olive oil]
2 t. Jamaican jerk seasoning [we substituted fajita seasoning, basically the same]
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, halved length-wise, and sliced 1/2 inch thick (about 1 pound)
Snipped fresh cilantro

1) sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In an extra-large skilled heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken; cook just until browned on both sides. Remove chicken from skillet. Drain fat, reserving 1 T.
2) in the same skillet, cook onion, ginger, and garlic in the remaining fat. Cook and stir about 4 minutes or until tender. Add broth [oil], stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
3) return chicken to skillet. Sprinkle chicken with seasoning. Return to boil, and then reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes more, or until chicken is done and potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Side Dish: Green Beans with Lemon and Walnuts
Start to Finish: 20 Minutes
Makes: 4 side-dish servings

12 ounces fresh green beans, trimmed
1 T. Butter
1/4 cup chopped walnuts [be generous]
1 t. Grated fresh ginger
1/4 t. Finely shredded lemon peel (much much better if from a fresh lemon)
1 t. Lemon juice

1) in a medium saucepan, cook beans, covered, in a small amount of boiling salted water until crisp-tender. Drain.
2) meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add walnuts and ginger; cook for 2 to 3 minutes, being very careful not to burn your nuts. Remove from heat; stir in lemon peel and juice. Stir nut mixture into cooked beans.


And above is our finished product, served with a Rose from Saint Laurent vineyards in Washington state. It was delicious, and if you've never had sweet potato cooked in a skillet, you should definitely give it a try. Enjoy!

Cheers,
Andrew