A game of chicken

I was in the mood for some crunchy chicken drumsticks tonight. I haven't had meat in awhile, and thankfully had picked up some kosher chicken the other day.

I chose Crispy Mustard Chicken with Carrots, a Martha Stewart healthy/light meal.

After a slow defrost in the microwave, I was ready to go. This recipe was unbelievably simple: all it required was processing some wheat bread into crumbs, mixing together some lemon juice (substituted for lime), mustard and garlic, and coating the chicken with both. I topped it off with some carrots and scallions, also baked in the oven, per Martha's instructions.

This was FANTASTIC! I completely overate (three drumsticks anyone?), but it was totally worth it.

Recipe (from http://www.marthastewart.com/261651/crispy-mustard-chicken-with-carrots):

 
Ingredients

• 3 slices rye bread
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 4 skinless chicken legs, (drumsticks and thighs)
• 2 (about 10 ounces each) bone-in, skinless chicken breast halves
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 6 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processor, pulse bread until coarse crumbs form.
   
2. In a shallow bowl, combine mustard, lime juice, and garlic. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dip chicken legs (not breast) in mustard mixture, then roll in crumbs, patting to coat. Place legs and breast on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil.
   
3. Check chicken breast after 20 minutes; remove when done. Roast legs another 10 to 15 minutes, until cooked through.
   
4. While chicken is roasting, toss carrots with remaining tablespoon of oil in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Season with salt and pepper. Place on separate rack in oven, and roast 10 minutes. Add scallions to carrots, and roast until tender, about 5 minutes.
   
5. Serve legs and vegetables together; reserve breast for another day.
   

Ew, Kale!

I have disliked kale for a long, long time.

This hatred of sorts comes from a single, slightly traumatic kale-related memory. Back when I was in girl scouts, sometime in late elementary school or early high school, my troop had the opportunity to work on a float for the Pasadena Rose Parade. For those of you who don't know what that is here is a summary:  every January 1, in honor of the Rose Bowl, Pasadena (a city in Los Angeles County near where I attended high school) has a parade that features floats made entirely out of plants and flowers; every one of the floats is designed and decorated with a variety of flora and nothing else. Our troop was assigned to work on a Dr. Seuss-themed float, which was awesome. I was pumped. At least until I got my assignment: taking the stickiest glue you can imagine and adhering bunches of kale to one another to create the top of a tree-like feature on the float. Seven or so hours later in the California sun, I was sticky from head to toe, had pieces of kale clinging all over my body, most notably in my hair, and was inundated with the smell of overripe, wilting kale.

From that moment forth, I lived a kale-less existence, by choice.

Today, thanks to Martha, I lifted my kale ban. After all, kale is extremely healthy, loaded with beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin - all good things that I could definitely use.

I decided to make Martha's Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing. Because the kale is raw in this recipe, I wouldn't lose any nutrients by cooking. And it was easy as pie! I chopped up a big bunch of kale, some carrots, and a (green, not yellow, red or orange) pepper. I also added in some grape tomatoes, my favorite vegetable, for good measure.

For the dressing, I got to use my brand-new Cuisinart Food Processor, courtesy of my fantastic mother. I combined olive oil, apple cider vinegar, peanuts, salt and brown sugar and blended away, a process that took less than a minute.

I have to say, the salad was absolutely, positively DELICIOUS. It might be the dressing that made it, but I completely loved this salad. I have lots of leftovers and am definitely bringing this to work for lunch this week. I highly recommend this recipe: healthy, fast and beyond delicious!

Recipe (by Martha Stewart at marthastewart.com):

Ingredients

 Serves 8

• 2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups)
• 1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup salted peanuts
• 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup salted peanuts

Directions

1. Toss 2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups); 1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, halved crosswise and thinly sliced lengthwise; and 2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise, in a large bowl.
2. Puree 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup salted peanuts, 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in a blender until smooth.
3. Pour dressing over vegetables just before serving. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing - Martha Stewart Recipes