Honey Balsamic Chicken Tenders

August 24, 2014 by Elizabeth

Sweet, juicy, mouth-watering, glazed chicken. Honey Balsamic Chicken Tenders are super easy and incredibly delicious. These amazing little strips are great on a salad, with your favorite cheesy pasta, on a sandwich, or just eat them as is. The possibilities are endless!

It’s Sunday, and you know what that means… recipe time! But first, I decided to take the plunge for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. This afternoon we donated, and then dumped 🙂 See…. Ps. That water was cooooold!

Brrr! Let’s warm up and talk about these Honey Balsamic Chicken Tenders. This is one recipe you’ll want to keep close by. It’s so easy, and seriously my favorite new way to cook chicken. I just can’t get enough of them!!! (They even freeze well, too!) Just toss everything in a ziplock bag in the morning, (or if you’re short on time, just an hour before you want to eat), and at dinner time, grab your pan and cook them up in a flash.

I love how the honey and vinegar in the marinade come together to delicately cover each piece with a rich caramelized coating. My favorite white balsamic vinegar is the one from Trader Joe’s. It has a fantastic flavor at a great price! These tasty little morsels are out of this world! Make them once, and I can guarantee you’ll be hooked 🙂

Honey Balsamic Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenders (or breasts- cut into 6 tenders)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

To Double:

3 to 3 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (or tenders)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Place a gallon size ziplock bag over a small bowl (to prevent spilling), add chicken tenders to bag. Then add garlic powder, onion powder, vinegar, oil, honey, salt and pepper. Remove most of the air from the bag, and close. Gently shake and rotate bag to combine ingredients, until marinade is mixed, and chicken is well coated.
Lay plastic bag on a paper towel lined plate, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 24. (Be sure to shake and rotate bag at least once while marinating.)
When ready to cook chicken, heat a large nonstick skillet, coated with cooking spray or 2 teaspoons oil, over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, use tongs to remove half of the chicken from bag, and add to pan. Cook chicken on one side for about 2 minutes, then turn, and continue cooking for about 4 to 6 more minutes. While cooking, rotate and flip chicken often, soaking up the sauce in pan with the tenders. Towards the end, be sure that the pan is hot enough so that the chicken starts to caramelize, but not too hot that it starts to burn. (You may need to adjust the heat accordingly.) Cook chicken until no longer pink in the middle.
Move cooked chicken to a clean plate, and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Wash out pan and repeat the same process with the remaining chicken tenders. Serve chicken immediately, or cool,and refrigerate for up to three days, or freeze up to 3 months.

http://elizabethshome.com/honey-balsamic-chicken-tenders/

For those of you who read the whole post – outtake #1!

Creamy Balsamic Dressing

July 7, 2014 by Elizabeth 2 Comments

Seriously easy, unbelievably creamy. Thick, Creamy Balsamic Dressing is perfect for any green salad. Slightly tangy, with a touch of sweetness, this dressing will upgrade your salads from ordinary, to extraordinary in no time!

Another summer Sunday and another blog post. 🙂 (My goal is to eventually start posting twice a week, but in the meantime, I’m just thankful for each post that makes it up.) I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend! We did! I’m thrilled to report that we even managed to survive our first week with Andrew back to work. Everyone was happy, fed and clean 😉 On top of that, laundry is caught up, and grocery shopping is done. Slightly tired, yes. Fun, productive week, yes! I will definitely be the first one to agree with everyone who told me that “the transition from one to two kids was much tougher than from two to three”. I mean, life is slightly chaotic now and there is usually a mountain of laundry to be done, but I guess that’s kind of how life with two little ones was anyway. 😉 Add little Charlie into the mix, and it’s just different. More laundry and less sleep, but LOTS more fun. So, all in all, it has been a great week, and such a nice long weekend. I’m just thankful for all of our blessings. Here are a few pictures of our little sweeties this week.

Now, let’s talk about this dressing. I actually stumbled upon the method for this recipe without even meaning to. I’ve been making this dressing recipe (not in its creamy form) for a while. But a few weeks ago, I was in my “creating” mode in the kitchen, and peered over at my Vitamix. “I wonder what would happen if I put my original dressing recipe in the blender and tried to emulsify it? Would it get creamy?” …Elizabeth was curious. (I guess we’ve been reading a few too many Curious George books around here ;)) But, with an idea like that, I figured I HAD to try it. I literally added everything to the Vitamix- vinegar, spices, whole garlic cloves and shallot pieces, and turned it on! It blended everything up in no time! So cool, and such a time saver! Next, I wanted to add the oil, but decided to drizzle it in, in a slow, steady stream. After adding all of the oil, and blending for a few more seconds, you will never guess what appeared! It was like magic! I removed the lid and peered down into the blender…sitting there looking up at me was a thick, creamy, delightful little substance. Did I say creamy? I mean, we’re talking restaurant quality, mayonnaise or sour cream-like thickness, and with only using healthy, extra-virgin olive oil. Totally awesome! Totally delicious! Super-duper eeeeasy! 🙂 I even whipped up a fresh batch this afternoon when we got home from the pool. (Throw ingredients in blender, mix, let chill in fridge. Dressing, done- in 5 minutes flat, or less!)

This Creamy Balsamic Dressing is the perfect addition to your favorite salads!

Creamy White Balsamic Dressing

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar (or regular balsamic)
2 cloves garlic (sliced)
1/2 medium shallot (sliced)
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
3/4 cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

Add vinegar, garlic, shallot, mustard, honey, salt, pepper and dill to blender or Vitamix. Blend for about 30-60 seconds on low, then high speed. Reduce speed to medium and slowly drizzle in olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Blend for a few more seconds until fully emulsified. Stop blending when dressing looks thick and creamy. (Be careful not to over mix, or dressing will thin out.)

Notes

For best results, allow dressing to chill in fridge for an hour before using. Dressing will keep covered and refrigerated for one week.

http://elizabethshome.com/creamy-balsamic-dressing/

Heart Healthy Balsamic Glazed Salmon

February 17, 2014 by Elizabeth Leave a Comment

Mouthwatering salmon filets coated with a thick, tangy balsamic glaze, baked in the oven, and garnished with thinly sliced scallions. This Heart Healthy Balsamic Glazed Salmon is quick and easy, and comes together in just under 30 minutes. Pair it with your favorite quinoa or brown rice, and a side of veggies, and you’ll have an amazing meal in no time.

While I was shopping at Costco the other day, I bought a gorgeous piece of salmon, and I knew I wanted to do something special with it. (I’ve been trying to get our family to eat more salmon. It has so many wonderful health benefits, and I feel like I need to make it more often.) I was on a role brainstorming a great marinade, sauce or glaze, until I had to take a break from being a chef, and had to resume my mommy duties.

All of a sudden, the dinner hour rolled around, and it dawned on me that I had forgotten all about creating a fabulous marinade for our salmon. I looked in the fridge, and found my very plain, very un-marinated salmon staring up at me. Let’s be honest, while I did put a lot of thought and time into researching how I WAS planning on letting this beautiful salmon soak up a luscious marinade for hours, this was one night where that just wasn’t going to happen. So, on to plan B!

With two starving boys, a hungry husband, and a pregnant mommy who can always eat, I put on my thinking cap. I needed something that I could pull together quickly, that would taste great, (was secretly healthy), and would of course be pleasing to my whole family.

Here’s a little bit about how this Heart Healthy Balsamic Glazed Salmon was created. The inspiration for my recipe came about after I read this recipe for Balsamic-Glazed Salmon Fillets. When I first came across it, I thought it looked good, but needed some work. I liked parts of the recipe, but didn’t like them all. How did I make it great? I simplified the directions, and tested and retested my recipe and method. I omitted a few ingredients, made a few substitutions, and added a few essential elements. I love how the the soy sauce and ginger help to neutralize the vinegar, but don’t overpower it.

Just a little note about this recipe, this isn’t a super sweet or super salty glaze. When stirring and cooking the sauce, it may look a bit “vinegary”, but I assure you that when brushed on the salmon and baked, the vinegar flavor in the glaze pairs wonderfully with the salmon.

So, it was a small challenge, and a race for time, but the end result was well worth it. We have already made this recipe twice in the last two weeks, and I just made it again last night! The boys devoured it, and Andrew and I were almost licking our plates, (I mean, that would be rude, right?) Instead, we were using our veggies to scrape up every last bit of the yummy glaze.

This quick and easy, Heart Healthy Balsamic Glazed Salmon can come together in just under 30 minutes. With only a minimal amount of preparation, a few minutes on the stove, and a short time in the oven, you can turn ordinary salmon into an extraordinary culinary experience.

Heart Healthy Balsamic Glazed Salmon

Yield: 5 servings

Ingredients

5 (5-6 ounce) salmon filets
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
4 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ginger, fresh grated (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly coat with cooking spray. Evenly space out salon fillets on foil.
In a small bowl, combine vinegar, soy sauce, mustard, sherry, honey, and ginger, and whisk together.
Heat a medium nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, over medium heat. When hot, add garlic and stir. Cook for about 1 minute until slightly soft and fragrant, but not browned. Pour in vinegar mixture and stir together. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until glaze has reduced greatly and is very thick and syrupy. (It should not be runny.)
Spoon about 1-2 tablespoons (use an even amount for each) of glaze onto each filet, and then brush glaze evenly over each piece.
Bake for about 10-14 minutes, or until fish is cooked through, and can easily flake with a fork.
Sprinkle with sliced scallions and enjoy!

http://elizabethshome.com/heart-healthy-balsamic-glazed-salmon/