Chicken Cacciatore

Yay it’s Thursday! It’s been a long week so far. Anyways, we are taking a break from the baby shower planning for now and we’re going to share with you a simple recipe that you can make on the weekend ahead.

Chicken Cacciatore is a family favourite dish. I don’t always have the time to make it, but this past weekend we had a stormy indoor Sunday so I thought why not. It’s the perfect comfort food dish to have after a long week and on a cloudy hibernating day.

To make Chicken Cacciatore (to serve five people roughly) you will need the following…

16-20 chicken thighs, with bones and skin.

1 can (796ml) of diced tomatoes

Your favorite tomato sauce, we used Classico’s Tomato Basil (or you can make your own)

12-20 sliced white mushrooms

2 tsp. of dried oregano

½ tsp. of dried basil

1 red chopped pepper

1 green chopped pepper

Salt (to taste)

½-1 tsp. of black pepper

3 cloves of garlic

Rice or pasta to serve with the chicken

Start by salting and peppering your chicken. Let it sit for about an hour.

While that’s happening, chop up your peppers and garlic and sauté them in a big pot until a little bit softer but leave some crunch. 

While the peppers are softening, you can slightly cook your chopped up mushrooms in a separate pan and set aside. You want the mushrooms to get a bit darker and softer and to cook some of the liquid out of them.

Add in the seasonings and the diced tomatoes. Stir around and then add in your tomato sauce. Allow your chunky looking sauce to boil and then simmer while you cook your chicken. 

Now it’s time to cook the chicken in batches making sure they get nice and crispy. I cooked them until they were almost fully cooked but you can leave them less cooked and let them finish cooking in the oven. I’m always super worried about under cooked chicken though. I started by cooking them on both sides for 5 minutes and then going back to the original side and cooking for at least 3 more minutes (make sure you don’t burn).

Place the prepared chicken into a couple of Pyrex dishes and cover with the tomato sauce. It’s not meant to be a runny type of sauce; you want it to be thicker over top of the chicken.

Cook further for an hour at 350 degrees.

When it comes out it should be steaming and bubbling.

Serve over rice or pasta. I also made some of my cheese biscuits to go along with it. They are always a hit

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Aquaholic-Infused Water

It’s all about water today! Infused water that is. The eyeshadow colour that we have chosen is called “Aquaholic” and it’s a sparkly teal shade.

We’ve got some good infused water ideas/ recipes that we are going to share with you today. They’ll be perfectly refreshing for the Summer months ahead.

Strawberry

4-6 strawberries hulled and quartered

½ lemon, sliced

Small handful of basil

Ice and cold filtered water

Fill a pitcher half way with ice and the strawberries and lemon slices. Scrunch a handful of basil in and then cover with water. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Strawberry Cucumber

Take ½ cup of strawberries along with ½ cup of cucumber slices and add to a pitcher and add water and put in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Watermelon

2 slices of watermelon cut into thirds

Small handful of basil

Fill a pitcher half way with ice and watermelon. Scrunch a handful of basil in and then cover with water. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Lemon Lime

Slice an entire lemon and a lime and place those slices in a pitcher and fill with water. Allow it to sit in the fridge for at least a couple of hours.

Blueberry Orange

Slice one orange and add it to a pitcher along with ¼ cups of blueberries. Fill with water and refrigerate.

Blueberry Mint

In a pitcher add ¼ cup of blueberries and 2 small sprigs of fresh mint. Add water to fill and then place in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Raspberry Lime

Quarter two limes and squeeze the juice into a pitcher before throwing in the quarters. Add a small packet of raspberries, about a cup and mush them up a bit. Fill the pitcher with ice and cover with water. You can serve right away.

Pineapple Mint

Into a pitcher add a couple of sprigs of fresh mint. Then add a couple cups of fresh pineapple chunks and mush them up a bit before filling the pitcher with ice and water.  

Grape Orange

Add two cups of halved grapes into a pitcher and then add a thinly sliced orange. Fill with water and refrigerate overnight.

Cherry Lime

In a pitcher add 2 cups of fresh pitted and halved cherries. Then add in a thinly sliced lime (if it’s small, then you can add two). Add water to fill and put in the fridge until you’re ready to drink. 

St. Patrick's Day

Since tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day we thought we'd pick something green to blog about. Two of our favourite green things to eat are guacamole and pesto (not at the same time though), so here's some green sauces & dips!


Spinach Basil Pesto

Ingredients:
4 cups spinach
2 cups basil
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil, plus 1 Tbsp


Directions:
1 - Place the spinach, basil, garlic, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender. Turn on the machine and blend for 30 seconds. Slowly stream in the olive oil while the machine is running. Process until smooth.
2 - Serve with pasta, veggies, chicken, etc.
3 - Store the pesto in a jar or container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

We found this recipe here: https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/spinach-basil-pesto/


Guacamole

Ingredients:
2 avocados, peeled
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
1-2 tsp. salt
1/4 jalapeno pepper, seeded & chopped - Optional

Directions:
1 - Place all ingredients in a bowl and blend with hand blender until smooth. (Use a fork to mash ingredients if you prefer your guacamole chunkier).
2 - Serve with tortilla chips, nachos, etc. or as a side to enchiladas, tacos and more.

We found this recipe here: http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/easy-guacamole-314831


Here's some other interesting looking dips and sauces that are green:
https://feedmephoebe.com/meatless-monday-green-goddess-avocado-dip-recipe/
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/oxs-chimichurri
https://pinchofyum.com/5-minute-magic-green-sauce
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tomatillo_salsa_verde/
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/hot-artichoke-dip-1
https://thecafesucrefarine.com/mint-basil-syrup/