Showing posts with label spinach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spinach. Show all posts

Thursday, January 30, 2014

chicken with spinach and potatoes in chipotle yogurt sauce


I wanted to make a dish somewhat inspired by an Indian curry utilizing yogurt.  One of the first dishes I tried out on my own in high school was chicken with swish chard in a chipotle crema.  I thought of that dish when coming up with the idea for this. The main ingredients I used were chicken thighs, spinach, potatoes, onion, garlic and chipotle which I bought canned in adobo sauce.



I began by searing chicken thighs in a pan on both sides, then cutting up into chunks.  I left these to the side while I put other ingredients together.




After removing the chicken, I fried onion and garlic and deglazed with beer.  I then added potatoes and spinach, before returning the chicken to the pot. To create the sauce, I blended the rest of the beer with 2 chipotles, cumin, thyme and a bit of sugar. I poured this over the chicken and vegetable and let simmer.  I then turned off the heat and tempered the yogurt by adding a bit at a time and stirring quickly so it doesn't curdle. I didn't have a specific ratio in mind other than I wanted to cool down the heat from the chiles significantly. Once combined, turned the heat back on and let it simmer on low.


The sauce was creamy and rich and actually still retained a good deal of heat. I would've liked to have much more spinach and plan to add two bunches next time instead of one.


For dinner tonight, I served this dish topped with black beans, cilantro, lime juice and some cotija cheese.  I really liked the texture of the beans mixed into the creamy sauce.  The lime did a good job of balancing out the fattiness as well. 

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Baked Spinach

This quick side dish was an idea I got from a steakhouse we went to recently.  It is basically a take on creamed spinach, but I chopped the spinach into bigger pieces for texture.  The end result is more soupy than thick.


 I began by cooking garlic, onion and red chili flakes in butter for a couple of minutes before adding about a pound of chopped spinach.  I tossed everything to coat and cooked untilt he spinach wilted.


I added a bit of half and half to the pan and mixed in some crumbled aged cheddar.  I topped with additional cheese before baking.


After baking at 400 for 20 minutes the cop was browned and some of the spinach on top crisped up slightly.  The end result was delicious, the cheese worked great with the spinach and the bit of broth that formed was quite flavorful. I would probably cut back on some butter and cream next time as this was just for a meal at home, though I can see a large tray of this being a hit at a holiday party.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

turkey burgers

This is a quick and healthy recipe I made up at home.  I initially made this recipe last summer using zucchini in place of the spinach and carrots.  The recipe is straightforward so I took pictures for most of the steps in the process. Each captions has instructions to follow.


I started with 1 cup spinach, .5 cup diced carrot and .5 cup of onion. I sauteed until the carrots were slightly softened. I cooked this with garlic and chipotle powder but any spices you like work great.

To the vegetables I added 1 cup of cooked quinoa.  I let this combination cool before adding the turkey.

I added 1 lb. of ground turkey and formed into 4 large patties.  I think these were all 3/4 burgers but they can definitely be made smaller.


A burger sauce I made by mixing 1 tablespoon horseradish sauce, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard , and a diced up dill pickle spear.

I added a slice of ham and placed on a much too small bun.  I would recommend heftier buns for the size of the patty.

The burger was very enjoyable and the veggies/quiona kept it moist.  I made extra for tonight, I'll continue trying different veggie/spice combinations but this is definitely going to be something I will be revisiting.