New Recipe Night - Two-fer again!

I ended up taking a brief break from the Olympics to actually cook some real food.  You can only eat so many leftovers, sandwiches and cereal before you start to feel the need for real food.  Not Zack of course, I think that child would eat cereal and ramen every meal of his life if I didn't make him eat some "real food" occasionally.  But I digress... needless to say, he did not join us for dinner.

Maple-Mustard Glazed Chicken

2 tsp olive oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tsp fresh chopped thyme ( I used 1 tsp dried)

2 med garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 Tbsp stone-ground mustard

Preheat oven to 400.  Heat a large ovenproof skillet over med high heat.  Add oil, swirl to coat.  Sprinkle chicken with pepper and salt.  Saute chicken 2 minutes on each side or until browned.  Remove from pan.  Add broth, syrup, thyme and garlic to pan' bring to a boil.  Cook 2 minutes stirring frequently.  Add vinegar and mustard; cook for 1 minute stirring constantly.  

Return chicken to pan and spoon mustard mixture over chicken.  Bake for 10 minutes or until the chicken is done.  Remove from pan and let sit for 5 minutes.

Place pan over medium heat;cook mustard mixture 2 minutes or until liquid is syrupy, stirring frequently.  Spoon over chicken and serve.

Parmesan-Roasted Green Beans

8 oz green beans

olive oil

salt 

pepper

Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 400.

In a medium bowl place green beans (clean and trim ends), small amount of oil (enough to coat beans), pinch of salt and pepper.  Mix until everything is covered.

Lay green beans onto a cookie sheet and sprinkle a "healthy" amount of cheese on top.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes - green beans should be crips on the outside and tender on the inside.

Both recipes were Delish!  Super easy to make and yummy!  Yeah for me, now I have the strength to sit on the sofa and watch more Olympics!

New Recipe Night - Green Bean and Potato Salad with Skirt Steak

I'm still cooking and John actually got to eat this dinner fresh out of the oven instead of warmed up.

Green Bean and Potato Salad with Skirt Steak

1 1/4 lbs skirt steak 

kosher salt

3/4 lb thin green beans, trimmed

1 large shallot, diced

1 Tbsp dijon mustard

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp olive oil

2 lbs small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and halved

fresh ground black pepper

1/3 cup black olives, rinsed and halved

2 Tbsp rough chopped parsley

2 Tbsp chopped chives

2 handfuls arugula

*** I substituted whatever steak I had in the freezer.  I also used Gnocci instead of potatoes***

Quick boil green beans for 3 mins.  Set aside to cool. In a small bowl combine shallot, mustard, vinegar and pinch of salt.  Set aside and let rest for 5-10 minutes, then whisk in 1/2 cup olive oil.  Meanwhile boil potatoes until fork tender, transfer to a large bowl and top with half vinaigrette.  Gently fold together and set aside.

Season steak with salt and pepper.  Heat skillet until very hot, add olive oil and place beef in pan without overlapping.  Cook for 2-3 minutes or until nicely browned.  Turn and cook another 2-3 minutes until desired doneness.  Transfer to cutting board and let rest for 5-10 minutes.

Add green beans, olives, parsley, chives to the potatoes.  Drizzle half of remaining vinaigrette on top and gently fold.  Distribute steak on plates and spoon bean and potato mixture around it.  Scatter the arugula on top and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette.

*** While the steak was resting I added the gnocchi to the pan and sautéed gently for 5-10 minutes until puffed and golden.  Added it to the green bean mixture.***

For purposes of reheating, it might be better to keep the gnocchi separate so it can be warmed up and then added to the salad later.

This was very tasty.  Definitely worth keeping!  Yummy!