Recipe of the Week

This week's recipe was a play on comfort food. I love chicken soup, but Im not a fan of the traditional chicken noodle soup from a can. Never have been. When I found this recipe though, I thought it looked like something I would love. Thankfully, I was right. It's a heart, yet healthy soup that J & I loved. We paired it with crusty bread and butter. It also kept well for leftovers.

Chicken and White Bean Soup
Adapted from: Cooking Light Magazine

Ingredients:

4-6 slices of bacon, chopped
12 ounces trimmed, chopped chicken breast
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. chopped tomato
1 T. oregano
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 c. water
2 c. fat free chicken broth
2/3 c. uncooked orzo
1 (15 oz.) can white beans, rinsed and drained
2 T. parsley
1. T. white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. sea salt

1. Cook bacon in large saucepan over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving the drippings; set bacon aside.
2. Add chicken to pan and cook until done. Remove chicken from pan. Add onion and garlic to pan and cook until tender.
3. Add tomato, oregano and pepper to pan. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Return bacon and chicken to pan.
4. Stir in water and broth. Bring to a boil.
5. Add orzo and cook 9 minutes or until al dente. Add beans. Cook 2 minutes or until heated through.
6. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley, vinegar and salt.
7. Serve with warm crusty bread and
8. Enjoy!

Happy Thursday!

Recipe of the Week

Today's recipe is one that I made for dinner last night. It turned out delicious if I do say so myself! J raved about it and said that he wanted me to make it again soon using the sauce and a different kind of meat. I think his exact words were "You could put that sauce on anything and it would be good!" Quite the compliment. For Cooking Light really, not me. I just followed their recipe. Ok, maybe a little for me. =) For those of you who aren't really into spicy foods, fear not, it's really not that spicy. More like a slow burn that never fully develops. I love spicy foods, so it was pretty tame in my book.

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

Courtesy of: Cooking Light

Ingredients:

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. ground cumin (I substituted ground nutmeg- I was out of cumin)

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. ground red pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (Mine had bones)

6 T. honey

2 tsp. cider vinegar

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Add chicken, one at a time and toss to coat.

3. Place chicken in a greased broiler pan. Broil 5 minutes on each side.

4. Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, mixing well.

5. Remove chicken from oven and brush with 1/4 c. honey mixture.

6. Broil for 1 minute.

7. Take chicken out, flip, and coat the other side with remaining honey mixture.

8. Broil an additional minute or until chicken is done.

9. I served it with broccoli and corn on the cob.

10. Enjoy! (Maybe with a little wine?)

We only drank a glass, not two bottles like this picture implies!