Bastardized Goddess Chicken

In the constant adventure of trying new foods and the like, I got my boyfriend to buy us some of Annie’s Naturals dressings. Since the Goddess dressing is my brother’s (a vegan) favorite, we got a bottle of it (as well as a bottle of the Shiitake and Sesame Vinaigrette which I was SUPPOSE to cook with too, but SOME ONE forgot to put it in my bag of cooking goodies. Hm… Wonder who that could be?), but unlike my brother, we found it much to bitter for our tastes.

So it sat for almost two months in his fridge, rarely touched, before I dragged it out and decided to use it as a chicken marinade. I was amazed by how a few modifications changed the taste! Below I detail how I seasoned the dressing and how I cooked up the chicken. In total prep took about 13.5 hours, including the chicken marinating, and 20 minutes cooking.


Bastardized Goddess Chicken
2-4 Servings

Marinade:
Half a bottle of Annie’s Naturals Goddess Dressing
3 teaspoons of Garlic Powder
2 teaspoons of Minced Garlic (drain if it is from a jar)
2 teaspoons of Fresh Parsley (Feel free to non-fresh parsley, but I had fresh on hand)
1 teaspoons of Soy Sauce

Mix all ingredients together. This will cut down on the bitterness of the dressing and make the dressing taste more like a garlic tahini sauce. Also, I used only teaspoons of minced garlic because I used the jarred kind which is preserved with vinegar and too much, even drained gives a more vinegar taste.

Cooking:
4 chicken tenders or 2 chicken breasts
Half of a Sweet Onion, cut into stripes

1) Put chicken and marinade in a sealed container. Put the container in the fridge and marinate for 10-13 hours.
2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3) While oven is preheating: chop onion and prepare pan or baking dish.
4) Put marinade, chicken and onion on pan or in backing dish.
5) When oven is preheated, cook for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Other things to add: Broccoli, mushrooms, rice.

Enjoy!

Roasted Garlic, Mmmm

Recently I have been all about roasting garlic. Granted, I have always been all for garlic, but lately roasted has stolen my heart. Maybe it is the amazing garlic roaster I just put an order in for from Avon (Yay for my Aunt being an Avon Rep!)* or the fact that some how my boyfriend and I keep finding restaurants that have roasted garlic in our meals, but any way you slice it (or roast it... bad joke, please bare with), roasted garlic is amazing.

Yesterday I roasted garlic for the first time using tips from these two blogs/websites:

The Hungry Mouse
Simply Recipes

I love the fact that The Hungry Mouse (Such a cute name!) not only shows an obvious infatuation with garlic just like me, but also shows multiple ways of using roasted garlic, including garlic infused oil and compound butter. Plus all the pictures let me know I am doing it right. Let’s face it, I am a highly visual person, sometimes I just do not get written directions. While sometimes her written directions are hard to follow, the pictures helped me at least, keep me on the right track.

Simply Recipes just had the most amazing tip: put the garlic in a muffin tin. It not only holds the garlic straight up, but it is perfectly sized for garlic. The only issue? If you are trying to infuse cooking oil at the same time, it is a hell of a feat to get the oil from the muffin tin into a container. Nearly darn impossible… Trust me, I tried it yesterday and mess one big mess.

Now some of you might be asking the most important question: Why roast garlic?

First off, it tastes amazing, alone or with other food. Secondly, it is a healthy alternative to butter. Thirdly, it keeps the sparkly weirdos far far away, as well as their squeaky fan girls. Fourth, you can easily turn it into a garlic paste and use it mashed potatoes, with vegetables, mix with butter, etc. I am sure I am missing some fantastic reasons to roast garlic. So feel free to share your ideas with us!

* Speaking of Avon, if you are ever looking for an Avon lady, I know a swell one. Just let me know and I will get you in touch with her.

Mustard is Evil

I hate mustard. Plain and simple. Never have liked, never thought I would, but lately some recipes have opened up my mind to the possibility of maybe, perhaps, kind of sort of liking mustard. Not plain mustard, mind you, but the wonderfully flavored mustards.

This recipe uses an amazing mustard my boyfriend and I found at the Michigan Renaissance Festival this year. The company, Garlic Festival, is aptly named considering the wide variety of garlic based products they have: seasonings, salsas and dips, marinades, sauces, pickled garlic, and of course, garlic mustard. This particular garlic mustard, is a garlic jalapeno mustard that is quite amazing.

The following recipe uses that mustard, though any other mustard can be used as a substitute.

Garlic Jalapeno Mustard Chicken
2 Servings

2 Chicken Fillets
4-6 Tablespoons of Garlic Jalapeno Mustard
4 Medium Sized Carrots, Sliced
1 Onion, Sliced
Minced Garlic to Taste
Oil or butter for the pan

Step One: Marinate chicken in the mustard for about an hour at least (I really just rubbed the mustard on the chicken and let it sit for a while to soak up some of the flavor.).
Step Two: Heat pan with oil or butter, than add the chicken fillets.
Step Three: Once the chicken fillets have started cooking, add the carrots a few minutes after. Add the onions one the chicken fillets after about half to 3/4s cooked through. Add minced garlic when desired (it all depends on how strong you want the garlic flavor and how well you want the minced garlic cooked).
Step Four: It is finished when the chicken is cooked through, the carrots are soft, and the onions are translucent.

Serve with extra mustard for dipping on the side.

Things to add: Salt/Pepper (this is a definite, I’m fairly certain a touch of both work have done the recipe wonders), other vegetables, more jalapenos.

Simmered Green Beans

Recently I cooked my current boyfriend a lovely dinner of chicken and broccoli bake (Step-by-Step Comfort Food from Confident Cooking) with simmered green beans on the side. They worked well together, if only because they both used chicken broth, garlic and some form of onions.

Now granted this was my first stab at simmered vegetables, but I think they turned out extremely well (and so did he). Considered yourself forewarned, now onto the recipe!

Simmer Green Beans*
2 to 3 servings



- 1 Can or approximately 16 oz. of Green Beans (I used french cut, but any kind will do. Fresh is generally best though, just ignore the fact that I used a can. )
- 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
- Minced garlic to taste
-2 teaspoons chopped onions (or to taste)
-Salt and Pepper to taste

Put ingredients into a pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer until onions are translucent and beans are well flavored. Also keep in mind the amount of broth you would like kept with the beans. Personally I simmered it until the broth was almost gone, leaving just a slight amount to pour over the served beans or to dip other foods in.

Things you could also add: Ham, Turkey, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Other Greens, Bacon (Everything is better with Bacon)