Fall is a busy time – these simple, quick and versatile recipes result in healthy comfort food. Master the methods and use your creativity to modify them – your families will think you are a never ending font of hearty healthy cooking.
Chicken and peppers
Ingredients
3 lbs organic chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
5 yellow or orange peppers cut into wide strips
5 red peppers cut into wide strips
1 large onion cut into wide strips
1 T minced garlic
2 T fresh chopped parsley
2 T olive oil
1/4 Cup chicken broth or white wine
1/4 Cup prepared marinara sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Pat the chicken thighs dry and then season them with salt and pepper on both sides.
Heat up a pan on medium high with olive oil to cover bottom.
Place chicken in the hot pan and sear till browned, flip over and brown on the other side (approx. 2 min.).
Remove chicken from pan; place on plate to rest (chicken will not be cooked through at this point but should have a caramel color on both sides).
Pour a little of the chicken broth or wine into the hot pan and scrape up all the chicken flavoring.
Add some more olive oil and the peppers, onions, garlic and parsley.
Season this mixture with salt and pepper, and cook on medium high until the peppers and onions cook down and become soft in texture.
Add chicken and any resulting juices back into the onion/peppers mixture.
Add chicken broth and marinara sauce and simmer slowly for a minimum of 15 minutes.
The longer you simmer, the more depth of flavor you will get and the more tender the chicken will be.
Taste broth and re season with salt and pepper to taste.
Options:
- use bone in chicken – adds a depth of flavor but makes serving and eating a little more challenging
- serve over polenta or any type of hearty pasta
- add other vegetables such as zucchini, baby spinach leaves or eggplant
- add sweet or hot Italian sausage
- use sausage and peppers only and serve on hearty hoagie rolls
Roasted Pepper Soup
Ingredients
4 -5 Yellow, red or orange peppers
1 Onion
1 T minced garlic
1 T olive oil
1 cup of chicken broth
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup half and half cream (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat to 400 degrees
Place vegetables on baking sheet with garlic and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper
Roast vegetable for 15 minutes or until they are slightly browned
Remove vegetable from oven and run through a food mill (this will squeeze out the juice leaving the skins of the peppers behind). If you do not have a food mill, you can use an immersion blender and or a regular blender.
Move ground vegetables into a soup pot and add chicken broth and heat through.
Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. If you want a creamy consistency, then add 1/4 cup of cream and mix.
Options:
- this same method will work with almost any combination of vegetables to make amazing easy soups
- to make a great sauce for pasta, fish, chicken or beef simply roast and then blend the vegetables (do not add broth or cream), season the pureed vegetables and serve
- try roasting cauliflower with curry powder. Follow the same process as above but use less broth and more cream
- you can use canned tomatoes, roast them with some basil and carrots for a little sweetness, follow same process as above, and then add grated parmesan cheese at the end.
