Yogurt-Marinated Chicken with Mushrooms and Sweet Potatoes!

Can I tell you how much I love Real Simple?! I find some of the best recipes from that magazine. I wanted to try this one because we had some sweet potatoes left over from this recipe and it just sounded good..... and the picture in the magazine looked good!

Ingredients:

•  1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 4-ounce chicken cutlets
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed well (**Quinoa is one of my new favorite foods. It is a great way to get some protein)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon plus 3 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, halved if large
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

- In a medium bowl, mix together the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

- Heat oven to 450. Spread walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Let cool and coarsely chop.
- Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to the package directions, Fold in the walnuts, parsley, 2 teaspoons of the oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

- Divide the potato, mushrooms, and thyme between 2 rimmed baking sheets; toss with 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Roast, rotating the sheets once, until tender, 13 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with the vinegar and toss gently.

- Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil in a large cast-iron or other nonstick skillet over medium heat. Wipe the excess marinade off the chicken and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Serve with the quinoa and vegetables. 

Recipe from Real Simple, February 2011

my next project

after painting the nursery with horizontal stripes I think I can now conquer the Chevron Stripe! I need some art on my walls and I don't really want to buy pre-made art so here is my inspiration project.

image from here
the blog I got this image/idea from is great, it's called MakeUnderMyLife, check it out!

Kahlua Souffles

I bought some ramekins a few years ago at Pier 1 and I have never used them.  So that is the first reason why I chose this recipe. The second reason is that it calls for Kahlua! I found this recipe in the Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking 2 Cookbook.

ingredients:

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
• 1/2 cup Kahlua
• 5 eggs
• 1 package (8-ounce) cream cheese, cubed
• Unsalted Butter (used to butter the ramekins)
• Sugar ( used to sugar the ramekins)
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee crystals or espresso powder 

•  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small saucepan, combine chocolate morsels and Kahlua. Heat over very low heat until chocolate is melted, stirring to blend. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

• Place eggs in blender and blend well. With the blender on, slowly pour cooled chocolate mixture through lid opening. Add cream cheese, a few cubes at a time, and blend until smooth.
• Pour into 6 buttered and sugared 6-ounce ramekins or ovenproof custard cups. Place ramekins on a baking sheet.

• Bake for 20 minutes or until edges are set but centers are still slightly soft. Combine powdered sugar and coffee crystals. As soon as souffles are done, remove from oven, place each on a dessert plate, and sift some sugar mixture through sieve over each souffle. Serve immediately.