Super Salad

This is so easy and so good for you. Next time you're at the grocery store, head to the produce section and grab a bag of baby spinach, a bag of matchstick carrots and a ripe avocado. That's all there is to this winning combination. I whipped up a jar of my favorite home-made dressing, tossed in a few croutons, and served this with baked chicken. 

The Ingredients.

1 bag baby spinach

1 bag matchstick carrots

1 avocado, sliced

The nice thing about this is you can use as much of the ingredients as you want.

The Dressing.

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. dried basil or oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

a little minced garlic from a jar

a little grey poupon mustard

Shake well in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, pour over salad and toss. Serve immediately.

Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

(from my recipe archives)
This is one of my favorite fall recipes. It's been featured on my blog before but it's back again because it's so good! You should add it to your menu rotation: tender chicken, delicious sauce (love the thyme and mustard combination), and wonderful vegetables. The house smells divine while it's baking and feels so cozy! I used a variety of vegetables I had on hand (potatoes, carrots and mushrooms). Sometimes I add onions and sweet potatoes or fingerling potatoes to the mix. You can start the chicken and veggies at the same time, and bake for about an hour. I usually double the amount of veggies so we can have yummy leftovers.
Mustard Roasted Chicken with Vegetables
The Ingredients.
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 T. whole-grain mustard (I use Mailles)
3 T. low-sodium soy sauce
Kosher salt & pepper
1 bag small carrots
1 box whole mushrooms
4-6 small red potatoes or small Yukon Gold, or both, quartered
1 red onion, cut in wedges (optional)
12 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme)
4 T. olive oil
The Directions.
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash chicken in cold water and pat dry. Combine the mustard, soy sauce, 1 tsp. pepper and salt to taste, in a large bowl. I also sprinkle in a little dried thyme if I don't have the fresh. Whisk and add chicken to coat. Place chicken in a 9x13 pan.
3. Mix olive oil with 1 tsp. salt. 1/2 tsp. pepper and 1/2 tsp. dried thyme. Add carrots, mushrooms and potatoes to coat and place around the chicken. If using fresh thyme instead of dried, lay a stem on top of each chicken breast and place remainder in with the vegetables. I do an extra pan (jelly roll pan covered with foil for easy clean-up) with just veggies and put it in the oven with the chicken.
4. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are fork tender, about 50-60 minutes. Serve with a tossed salad.

A Fall Feast ...

This is a repost of one of my favorite chicken recipes. And it's absolutely delicious, if I don't say so myself. It's perfect to serve as soon as the weather turns cool. The temps around here are finally falling back into the normal range after being unseasonably summery for a week or two. There's nothing like the warm days and cool nights of Indian Summer in Minnesota. And the blue sky is spectacular! Add a tossed salad and rolls to the chicken and you've got a real feast!

MUSTARD ROASTED CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES
INGREDIENTS:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-1/2 T. whole-grain mustard (I use Mailles)
3 T. low-sodium soy sauce
Kosher salt & pepper
1 small bag baby carrots
1 box whole mushrooms
2 onions, cut in wedges
12 sprigs fresh thyme (or dried thyme)
4 T. olive oil
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash chicken in cold water and pat dry. Combine the mustard, soy sauce and 1 tsp. pepper in a large bowl. Whisk and add chicken to coat. Place chicken in a 9x13 pan.
3. Mix olive oil with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Add carrots, mushrooms and onion to coat and place around the chicken. Add thyme to olive oil mixture and lay a stem on top of each chicken breast and place remainder in with the vegetables.
4. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 50-60 minutes.

Encore presentation ... one of my favorite recipes!

This is a lovely recipe. I made it last Sunday and we had the leftovers on Monday. Two meals out of one recipe is always a bonus! This is really perfect for Sunday dinner with the family. We always ate dinner together on Sundays when our children were young. I'd set the dining room table with the "good" china and silverware and make it a special occasion. We all had our regular places and still do, even now that both of our kids are grown and on their own. I really miss those days when life was so busy but oh so sweet!

MUSTARD ROASTED CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES
INGREDIENTS:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6-1/2 T. whole-grain mustard (I use Mailles)
4 T. low-sodium soy sauce
Kosher salt & pepper
1 bag small carrots
2 red onions, cut in wedges
1-8 oz. box fresh mushrooms
12 sprigs fresh thyme (I don't always have fresh thyme. You can substitute dried thyme, about 1/2-1 tsp.)
8 T. olive oil
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash chicken in cold water and pat dry. Combine the mustard, soy sauce and 1 tsp. pepper in a large bowl. Whisk and add chicken to coat. Place chicken in a 9x13 pan.
3. Mix olive oil with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Add carrots, onion and mushrooms to coat and place around the chicken. Add thyme to olive oil mixture and lay a stem on top of each chicken breast and place remainder in with the vegetables. I do another pan of just the vegetables, in addition to the chicken pan.
4. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 50-60 minutes. I served this with a tossed salad and rolls.

Bubbling brown sugar ...

I love these carrots; they add great color to the plated food and they taste delicious! I used the crinkle cut carrots I had in my freezer, but I think the whole baby carrots look prettier. The carrots get coated with this lovely brown sugar and butter glaze that makes them taste sublime! I served this with my Alpine chicken recipe.
GLAZED CARROTS
1-16 oz. bag frozen carrots (whole baby carrots or crinkle cut)
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Fresh parsley
Simmer carrots 15 minutes in pan, or until tender but not mushy. Melt butter in large saute pan and add brown sugar and salt. Add drained, cooked carrots to the butter/brown sugar glaze. Continue heating for 10 minutes, turning the carrots occasionally. Add snipped fresh parsley.