Cooking

Future you as a friend

Sonya Verlaque

I feel like we are all always "on the go" and I have to constantly "grab something quick." But if you have 15, or even 30 minutes, you have time to actually eat something that is nutritious and tastes good. You deserve to eat good food and it will help your body function, sometimes I like to even think of future me as a friend. Dinner me will be hungry tonight, she’s worked pretty hard and I like her most of the time, let me put something together now so when she’s tired and hungry tonight she doesn’t DoorDash a bad decision.

Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken

This is an easy crock pot recipe for chicken thighs cooked in honey garlic sauce that is full of flavor. Only 5 ingredients that you probably already have plus a couple of standard seasonings. Super easy chicken recipe and also easy to increase in size for leftovers. My husband loves it when we make extra so he can eat it over rice for lunch. To serve this I actually just make some rice and steam some broccoli in the microwave and its similar to having Chinese take out without the delivery fee.

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, mainly important they are skinless because chicken skin in a Crockpot is not pleasant
• 4 garlic cloves, minced (jar garlic is fine)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup low sodium ketchup
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tbs fresh parsley
• 1/2 tbs toasted sesame seeds

Preparation Instructions:

Arrange chicken thighs on the bottom of your slow cooker; set aside. (please look at the notes section) n a mixing bowl, combine garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oregano and parsley; whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour the sauce over the chicken thighs. Close with a lid and cook for 4 to 5 hours on LOW, or 3 to 4 hours on HIGH. Final internal cooking temp for chicken is 165. Remove lid and transfer chicken to a serving plate.

To thicken the sauce you can do it two ways. First make a cornstarch slurry. Use 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water; mix it together until mixture forms a paste. The fastest way: 30 minutes before the chicken is done cooking, whisk the cornstarch slurry into the sauce inside the slow cooker; cover and continue to cook for 30 minutes. The second way that requires two steps but is a bit nicer. When the chicken is done, take a small sauce pan and sieve, strain the Crockpot juices into the pot. This takes out the left over chicken bits. Then add the cornstarch slurry and bring the whole thing to a boil and then turn down to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, then spoon over chicken. It will continue to thicken as it cools also. This will make a smoother sauce and the entire dish stores well for 3 days in the refrigerator.

Chilled Asparagus with Citrus Vinaigrette

This is delicious and a way to be kind to future you. So, if you planned on making asparagus for dinner, just boil extra and set it aside. Dress with this vinaigrette and you have a nice lunch side dish for tomorrow. This with an egg (poached, hard boiled, whatever) and some crusty toast with butter or cheese feels like "restaurant lunch" as my kids would say.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound asparagus, woody ends cut off
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbs dijon mustard
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp maple syrup or honey
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preparation Instructions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes. Immediately remove the asparagus from the boiling water and place it into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once the asparagus has cooled remove it from the water, blot it dry with a towel, and place it in a large bowl. In a glass measuring cup combine the remaining ingredients and whisk together to form the citrus vinaigrette. Pour the desired amount of vinaigrette over the asparagus and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, salt and pepper.

Sheet-Pan Chicken Thighs with Brussels Sprouts & Gnocchi

When did Brussels sprouts get such a glow up? I swear 20 years ago no one ate Brussels sprouts, I wish I had bough Brussels sprout stock. This recipe originally appeared in eatingwell.com and is also easy to substitute other vegetables if you don’t have sprouts on hand. Green pepper chunks for sprouts, or red peppers or carrots for tomatoes. You can also liven this up with some fresh basil at the end.

Ingredients:

• 4 tbs extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 tbs chopped fresh oregano, divided
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced, divided
• ½ tsp ground pepper, divided
• ¼ tsp salt, divided
• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
• 1 (16 ounce) package shelf-stable gnocchi
• 1 cup sliced red onion
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 tbs red-wine vinegar

Preparation Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Stir 2 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon oregano, half the garlic, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/8 tsp salt together in a large bowl. Add Brussels sprouts, gnocchi and onion; toss to coat. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet. Stir 1 tablespoon oil, the remaining 1 tablespoon oregano, the remaining garlic and the remaining 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/8 tsp salt in the large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Nestle the chicken into the vegetable mixture. Roast for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the tomatoes; stir to combine. Continue roasting until the Brussels sprouts are tender and the chicken is just cooked through, about 10 minutes more (internal temperature of 165F). Stir vinegar and the remaining 1tablespoonoil into the vegetable mixture.