Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash & Quinoa Recipe

Yield: Serves 6

From the kitchen of Cookin Canuck. www.cookincanuck.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded & chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 can (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes
2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
3/4 cup pitted and quartered kalamata olives (Courtney omited these
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

Steam the butternut squash until barely tender, about 10 minutes. Remove half of the squash pieces and set aside.
Steam the remaining squash until very tender, an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Mash this squash with the back of a fork. Set aside.
In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer.
Add chicken thighs, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Transfer the chicken thighs to a plate and allow to cool. Pour broth into a medium-sized bowl.
Return the saucepan to the stovetop and lower heat to medium. Add olive oil.
Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is starting to turn brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add minced garlic and oregano. Cook, stirring, for 1 additional minute.
To the saucepan, add tomatoes, butternut squash pieces, mashed butternut squash. Stir to combine.
Stir in reserved chicken broth and quinoa. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa turns translucent, about 15 minutes.
Shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork.
Stir the chicken, olives and pepper into the stew and simmer, uncovered, to heat, about 5 minutes.
Stir in parsley and serve.

Candied Coconut Sweet Potatoes aka "Let's just skip dessert" (I can't believe I just typed that!)

Candied Coconut Sweet Potatoes
Recipe by Our Best Bites

4 C mashed Sweet potatoes (4 med sweet potatoes or abt 2 large sized cans)
6 Tbs Sugar
6 Tbs butter (no margarine), softened or melted
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (eyeball it)
1 t vanilla
Topping:
If you’re feeling naughty you can double this part :)
1 C brown sugar
1 C sweetened coconut flakes
6 Tbs melted butter
Note: You can make these up to a day or two ahead of time, just keep them well covered in the fridge and don’t put the topping on until just before baking.If using fresh sweet potatoes, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick each sweet potato with a fork and place on foil in the oven. Cook for 40-60 minutes or until tender.
Once they’ve cooled enough to handle, slice in half and scoop out the insides into a mixing bowl.
To the mixing bowl add in sugar, butter, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla. Your butter should be soft enough to blend up easily so nuke it in the microwave before you add it to the bowl if you need to.
You could mash it all up by hand, but an electric mixer works great. I don’t like it completely pureed, so I mix it just until everything is incorporated but there are still some sweet potatoes in larger chunks.
Spread this mixture evenly into a 9 x 13 pan.
For the topping, combine brown sugar and coconut and then pour melted butter over and combine. Mmm…
Take a pinch of the buttery-sugary mixture and put it in your mouth. Chew. Swallow. Then sprinkle the rest evenly over the sweet potatoes in the pan.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40-50 minutes. It will be more or less depending on the size of dish you use, whether you double the topping, etc. But the top should be nice and browned and bubbly so just keep an eye on it.

Yellow Curry with Chicken (adapted from an Epicurious recipe)

Michelle, this works great with tofu too. :) And it's non dairy b/c it's coconut milk.

1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 lb chicken (whatever you like, breast, thighs, whatever)
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
4-5 tablespoons yellow or green curry paste
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 all-purpose potatoes,(you can use sweet potatoes if you're feeling ambitious) peeled, quartered, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips (red peppers are great too. I actually like to add both if I've got them)
1 teaspoon salt (or more if you're a Lisonbee. Mine needed salt.)
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper


1. Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Swirl in the oil and add the chicken. Cook until juices run clear. Remove to a plate, leaving the pan drippings.

2. Add the shallots to the pan drippings, and cook over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes or until just softened. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, 30 seconds or until fragrant.

3. Return the chicken to the wok and stir until well combined with shallots. Add the coconut milk and broth and bring to a boil over high heat, uncovered. Add the potatoes, bell pepper, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 - 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. I prefer my peppers a little under done so I add them in during the last 5 minutes but that's just a matter of taste.

Serve with fresh lime to squeeze over jasmine rice. And only jasmine rice. I really love brown rice but this is one occasion when I think it really does matter. Enjoy!

Mexican Chopped Salad

This is a fave:

Mexican Chopped Salad

2 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce (I think I use more like 4 cups)

 1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, rinsed and well drained

 3/4 cup chopped seeded tomato

 3/4 cup chopped peeled jicama

 3/4 cup fresh corn kernels, uncooked (or frozen or canned)

 Almost ripe avocado, diced

 1 red bell pepper, chopped

 1/4 to 1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese

Honey-Lime Dressing

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

 1/4 cup olive oil

 2 tbsp honey

 2 tbsp fresh cilantro  (plus a little more to toss with the lettuce)

 1 garlic clove, peeled

 1 tsp jalapeño or serrano pepper (use canned for less heat)

I put the dressing in a container and mix it with my immersion blender, I like the flavors totally mixed together.  You could use a regular blender, or just mince the cilantro, garlic, and pepper and whisk it together.  Toss and enjoy!