food fix. balsamic chicken with spinach & gnocchi with artichokes & sun-dried tomatoes.

adapted from Publix - Apron's recipe Balsamic Chicken with Baby Greens and Sun-Dried Tomato Gnocchi. 

Note: el kiddo really loves helping out in the kitchen, so I try to involve him as much as possible...I'll let you know when...

For the chicken:
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut each in half)
- sea salt
- pepper
- olive oil
- Herbes de Provence (mine came pre-mixed from Whole Foods, but you can fake your own from this)
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (mine came from Trader Joe's)
- up to 1 bag (approx 7-10 oz) of baby spinach (I keep spinach on hand for everything- for sandwiches, salads- so I just use up whatever I have left in the bag)

1. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. (NOTE: I usually let el kiddo grind the salt & pepper over while I hold the chicken...he keeps his hands off the raw chicken & my hands make fewer trips to the scorching kitchen sink!)
2. Drizzle some oil in the pan (a couple times around the pan), then add chicken and cover; cook a few minutes on each side.
3. Add a couple pinches of the Herbes de Provence. Add the vinegar & spinach; rotate chicken to top of greens and cover. Remove from heat; let stand 1–2 minutes or until greens are wilted. Serve.

For the gnocchi:
- 3/4 typical can artichoke hearts (coarsely chopped) (um, we have BIG ♥ for artichokes at our casa...prolly about only 1/2 the can actually made it in with the pasta...el kiddo takes his snacking privileges seriously in the kitchen)
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (coarsely diced)
- 1 (14-oz) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 2-1/2 cups water
about 16-oz gnocchi pasta (whatever type you prefer- or can find. This time it was a basic semolina pasta *the only one* from Kroger's, but we really like the potato kind)
- 1 tbsp butter
- couple handfuls of shredded Parmesan, Asiago, or Percorino (again, your preference...we use whatever wedge we shredded down most recently)

1. Reserve 1/4 cup of the chicken broth; set aside. Combine remaining broth (about 1 1/2 cups) and water; cover and bring to boil on high for gnocchi. (I let el kiddo do all the pouring & monitoring duties)
2. Add gnocchi to boiling broth mixture (if needed, separate gnocchi before dropping into water). Cook and stir 4 minutes or until tender. (HINT: they float when ready)
3. Drain gnocchi. Return empty saucepan to medium-high heat. Place remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth, artichokes, and tomatoes in pan; cook 2–3 minutes or until heated. (I let el kiddo help out here- but he knows all of the stove & oven rules- he's 9, FYI)
4. Gently stir gnocchi, butter, and cheese into tomato mixture; cook 1 more minute or until butter and cheese melts. Serve. (El kiddo helps with the stirring. And we sprinkle just a bit more cheese on the gnocchi once plated)

Sooo good.

Serves 3-4. And for a realistic approach to how many this serves...
It fed the two of us twice. Had the BF been here...it would've fed the three of us once or left a small-portioned sized lunch for me the next day.

thursday treats. cast iron lamb chops

[image from CCB blog]

Easter is right around the corner, can you believe it?! This year is flying by far too quickly for me. Oh well. Time flies when you're having fun [or swamped], right?

Fresh homemade [rosemary, mint, basil] pesto & lamb chops seared in a cast iron with a quick sprint in the oven. Yum.  The recipe comes from Callie's Charleston Biscuits, which is a fantastic family grown...not quite bakery--perhaps biscuitry...based out of Charleston, SC. Find the pesto & lamb chop recipe here. They have other tasty recipes on their blog [if you're a fan of cast iron cooking, definitely check it out] & you can sign up for the newsletter. Note: They send out the newsletter fairly regular & lots of it concerns local Charlestons. I'm not 100% that you can tailor it to suit.

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Happy Cooking!
♥ - Kat.

sunday treats. kids can have fun too.

Now that it's officially Spring again, families will be firing up the grill & inviting friends over for cookouts. Garden & dinner parties, birthdays, weddings...they are all on the menu. The adults will sample drinks of all colors of the rainbows with exotic names like Swampwater, Sea Breeze, Mai Tai... [you get my point] ...in all sorts of odd glasses. And the kids get juice, water, or soda in plastic cups. 

"Oh, what's that? Can I have that?"

I know that I'm not the only one that's been asked that by their kid. Sometimes, something as simple as letting the kiddies drink out of the same type of glass will do. You decide if you can trust them or not...they're your kids, not mine & I'm not there to clean up! lol...I trust Alex better than some of the adults! 

**Prodyne has a line of Unbreakable polycarbonate drinkware [I pulled up on Organize.com].  Martini & wine glasses, flutes, beer mugs, tumblers... all reasonably priced. Great for kids [some adults] & outdoors. Dishwasher safe.**

And if there are a number of kiddies over, why not make them kid-friendly cocktails?! Little things like that always were special & made me feel a little more grown-up [equaled more important] as a kid. Natalie Bovis-Nelsen [aka The Liquid Muse] shared such a recipe with Daily Candy. 

DailyCandy Kiddie Cocktail
Ingredients
1½ oz. pineapple juice
3 oz. guava juice
½ oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 oz. club soda
½ oz. grenadine
Pop Rocks (or colored sugar)
1. Hold a champagne flute upside down.
2. Rub the rim with a piece of lime to moisten, then dip it in a small plate filled with Pop Rocks so that they stick to the rim of the glass. Set aside.
3. Pour juices into a cocktail shaker, fill with ice, shake.
4. Gently strain into the candy-rimmed glass. Top with club soda.
5. Slowly pour in grenadine so that it settles toward the bottom of the glass, creating a slightly layered effect.

Her book, Preggatinis: Mixology for the Mom-to-be, looks like it would be a great resource for those special drinks sans alcohol. Just because it doesn't have the alcohol doesn't mean it has to be dull!

 

 Happy Mixing!

♥ -Kat. 

[top image & recipe from Daily Candy's original post]