i84dinner

~ What We Cooked For Dinner… no shame + lots of spinach

i84dinner

Tag Archives: trader joes

2013, 6/20 – Kristen

21 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by policysittigjackson in kristen

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

arugula, balela, bbq, beans, chicken, chickpeas, garbanzo, garlic, GF, gluten free, grill, Kosher salt, lemon, Middle East, Olive oil, salad, trader joes, yogurt, Za'atar

With a Nod the Middle East

A few years ago, we were invited over to some dear friends’ house for dinner.  They’d made an incredible adult dinner, but while we drank wine and caught up (we never get to see each other as frequently as we’d like!) our friend Bora (who hails from Turkey) whipped up something quick to give the kiddos.  He sliced up come skinless boneless chicken breasts, tossed the slices with olive oil and za’atar, and grilled them over a blazing hot grill (they cooked for about 1 1/2 minutes) and then he brought them in and squeezed fresh lemon juice over the chicken.  While I knew his wife Yola had prepared a feast for us, I kept sneaking bites of the boys’ chicken.  And Voila!  “Bora’s Chicken” became a staple in our house.  (See recipe below)

Bora's chicken over arugula and balela

Bora’s chicken over arugula and balela

Screen Shot 2013-06-21 at 11.16.58 AM

I served it over a simple arugula salad (tossed with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, & sea salt) and balela (thanks Trader Joes for bringing this to my world! See my recipe below) and garlic dip (I’ve got to come up with a better name – any suggestions?)

Balela

  • 1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
  • 2 cans garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
  • 1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 small red onion, minced
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
  • 4 T good quality olive oil
  • Juice of 1 large lemon
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients in bowl and let sit as long as you can.  Minimum 30 minutes.  Overnight would be great.

Bora’s Chicken

  • 2 Large skinless boneless chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2″ cutlets (or you can use a package of TJ’s chicken breast tenders and cut each one in half lengthwise)
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 2 T za’atar (I make my own version (2T dried thyme, 2T sumac, 1T toasted sesame seeds, 1t kosher salt, 1t black pepper), but you can buy it in Middle Eastern grocery stores.  I also saw it at my local Whole Foods.)

Heat grill to the hottest you can get it.  While grill is heating up, toss chicken strips with oil and za’atar – stirring to coat the chicken.  Don’t do it earlier b/c the chicken will get dried out.  Not sure why – just trust me that marinating it did not help.

When grill is HOT, toss the chicken on the heat and remove when done (about 1.5 minutes).  Do not over cook – the goal is to flash cook it so the moisture gets trapped inside.

Remove from grill and squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon over the chicken.  Try not to eat it all before you serve it to your family.

Garlic Dip

  • 1 cup Greek Yogurt (buy the thickest kind you can buy – preferably without any gums and junk added.  This is my favorite – it’s even thicker than greek yogurt… almost closer to cream cheese)
  • 1 medium clove garlic, minced
  • 1 T kosher salt
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon

Stir all ingredients together.  Add more lemon or salt if you like it saltier or lemonier.  Go ahead, I won’t mind.  Heck, you could even add more yogurt or garlic if you wanted it LESS salty or lemony or more garlicy.  I’m flexible about it.  Make yourself happy.

 

 

Advertisements

2013, 6/14 – Kristen

15 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by policysittigjackson in kristen

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

cheese, gluten free, goat cheese, kids, kristen, olives, pizza, trader joes

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Ack.  No photo, but I attempted gluten free pizza dough for the first time.  After reading THIS blog post about how Trader Joes’ gluten free flour is actually safe for me (a celiac who really wishes she wasn’t), I decided to try out THIS recipe.  In spite of the fact that my “dough” looked more like sand and only held together when I dumped a $#!+ ton of olive oil in at the end to get it to hold together, it was actually pretty tasty.  I’ll try another recipe next time, however, to make it quicker and easier.

The kids topped theirs with pepperoni and olives in a smily face.

My hubby had pepperoni, olives, pepper jack & goat cheese.

I had goat cheese, pepper jack, marinated artichoke hearts, olives, & cilantro.

I promise a photo next time.

2013, 06/12 -Heather

13 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by policysittigjackson in heather

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

chicken, GF, Heather, thai, trader joes

Chicken Take Two

Last night’s chicken pulled from the bone and simmered in Trader Joe’s thai green curry simmer sauce with fresh spinach, garlic, zucchini and pickled jalapenos.  Served over basmati rice.   Finished with chopped thai spiced cashews.  Too spicy for the kiddos.Image

2013, 06/11 – Kristen

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by policysittigjackson in 2013, kristen

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2013, kids, kristen, trader joes, year-round

Dad’s at work dinner

Trader joes mini chicken tacos, avocado, pan fried bananas

2013, 06/10 – Kristen

10 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by policysittigjackson in 2013, kristen

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Artichoke, chicken, kid-friendly, quick, Quinoa, spring, trader joes, year-round

Baked Chicken & Artichokes, sauteéd greens, quinoa*

*all ingredients from trader joes

1 package  chicken breast tenders

2 jars marinated artichoke hearts

1/2 jar capers

2 bags “power greens”

2 cups dry quinoa, cooked to instructions on package

Toss all ingredients together in pyrex & bake at 350 until chicken is cooked through.  Server over cooked quinoa & sauteed (trader joes) power greens (sauteed with garlic in olive oil).   Add red pepper flakes to taste.

Recent Posts

  • 2013, 7/17 – Kristen AND Heather
  • Apologies
  • 2013, 07/11 – Heather
  • 2013, 07/10 – Heather
  • 2013, 07/09 – Heather

Archives

  • July 2013
  • June 2013

2013 apricot Artichoke arugula barbeque bbq berries bok choy carrots celiac cheese chicken chickpeas chinese cilantro cucmbers dinner eggs family garlic GF gluten free goat goat cheese grain free grill grilled happy Heather heatherly kale kid-friendly kids kristen latin leftovers lemon lime lobster Marin Sun Farms nectarines Olive oil olives Paleo pantry items peanuts pickle pickles pizza pork potato potatoes quick Quinoa rice roasted chicken salad salmon soup spring Squash squash blossoms steak summer tart thai TOAST tomatoes trader joes tuna vodka year-round yogurt Za'atar zucchini
Advertisements

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel