Our first adventure from this month’s Sweet as Pie menu was Chicken Lettuce Wraps Y’all from Southern Plate.  These were very easy to put together and were quick enough for a weeknight meal.  Here’s how they came together:

First, I sauteed some chicken breasts which I’d cut into about 1-inch pieces.  I set those aside and sauteed chopped mushrooms and sliced green onions for just a few minutes.

Then I added the chicken back into the pan and mixed in a combination of brown sugar and soy sauce until it was all heated through.

While the chicken mixture was heating, I puffed the rice sticks in hot oil.  Funny enough, I’d seen a chef do this on Chopped just this week.  It was pretty cool, just like the recipe promised.

I spooned some of the mixture into lettuce cups and topped with the rice sticks. 

As easy as these were, we just didn’t love them.  They were a little bland and didn’t really make an impression.  Phillip was a little skeptical about using lettuce leaves as a vessel, but would have been okay with them had the filling packed more of a punch.  They could probably be improved with a thicker sauce, something to add a little heat, and maybe a crunchier vegetable addition (in all fairness, I left out the water chestnuts the recipe called for since I don’t like them, so that might have made a difference).  I wouldn’t be opposed to trying a fancier restaurant version, but I probably won’t attempt to make these again myself.  I did end up with some nice leftovers though that I’m planning to throw into some fried rice.

I don’t make many one-dish meals, so I always forget how incredibly convenient they are.  Our third recipe for this month’s Sweet as Pie list, Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon Garlic Green Beans, was such a one-dish meal.  It was simple to put together and I think it works great as a weeknight meal.  Here’s how it came together:

I started by snapping the green beans, something I haven’t done in a while.  It brought back memories of snapping beans from my granddaddy’s garden in the summer.

Side note:  I’m loving my new cutting board storage – just a file organizer attached to the inside of one of my cabinets.

I made a simple vinaigrette with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper.  After arranging lemon slices on the bottom of a casserole dish, I tossed the green beans in the vinaigrette and spread them evenly over the lemon slices.

Then I tossed some quartered red potatoes in the dressing and added them to the outside of the dish.  I couldn’t find any skin-on chicken breasts at our store that week, so we used chicken thighs instead.  I put the chicken (which had also been tossed in the lemon garlic mixture), skin-side up, in the center and put the whole thing in the oven to roast for about 50 minutes.

The chicken and potatoes were perfect, but the green beans cooked a bit unevenly.  Next time I might put them back in the oven for a while or blanch them beforehand to make sure they end up being cooked through.  The recipe was very lemony, which I loved, but others might find it a bit too much – I think you could easily tone it down by substituting another liquid or by omitting the lemon slices.  I’d be up for making this one again, especially since once it goes into the oven, you’re done with the entire meal.

For this month’s bonus Sweet as Pie pick, I chose an herbed goat cheese spread that I thought would be great for a get-together with friends.  Plus, Phillip loves goat cheese so even if I didn’t end up with an occasion to share it, I knew we’d be happy to have this around for a snack.  It only took a few minutes to pull together and the leftovers have held up really well.  I only had to mix all of the ingredients together in a processor until smooth.  I did spring for the fresh herbs since they would be the main flavoring and I like to use fresh when I know they’ll really make a difference.

Goat cheese, chives, thyme, milk, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

I’m loving these Parmesan bread chips from the Publix bakery.

Our Junior League provisional small group met at Wine and Design for our monthly social, and wouldn’t you know it, I needed to bring an appetizer to share.  Perfect occasion for goat cheese spread!  I served it with Ritz and Wheat Thins, but it was also delicious with pita chips.  I think it’s fair to say that it was a hit with the Junior League group – a few people even asked for the recipe.  What more can you ask for than an easy, delicious, crowd-pleaser of a recipe?  I’ll keep this one in mind the next time I need a quick and easy appetizer and other than perhaps sneaking in a little garlic (you know that’d be good), I won’t change a thing about it.

Talented Junior League artists.

Herbed Goat Cheese Spread

America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (pg. 22)

1 (11- or 12-ounce) log goat cheese
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
Salt and pepper

Process all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth, about 1 minute.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a serving bowl.  Serve with crackers or a thinly sliced baguette.

This Garlic and Onion Biscuit Ring was SO easy.  I feel like we got a lot of bang for our buck on this one – minimal effort, inexpensive ingredients, and still a yummy accompaniment for a weeknight meal.  Phillip, as you know, is a bread-lover so this was always bound to be a hit with him.  I was surprised at how much I liked it, although I’m not sure why, because what’s not to love about garlic, onion, and butter?  Here’s how it came together:

I mixed some melted butter with a teaspoon of poppy seeds, minced garlic, and onion powder.  I may or may not have (but definitely did) add a little more garlic than the one clove the recipe called for.  I was also supposed to use chopped onion, but I opted to simplify the assembly by using onion powder instead – it’s a substitute I’ll probably repeat for this recipe. 

I used two cans of smaller biscuits instead of one can of larger biscuits and dipped each biscuit in the mixture before layering in a greased bundt pan.

I served the biscuits alongside my super-fancy alfredo sauce from a jar and fettuccine (I do “doctor it up” a bit though) for a very quick weeknight meal.  We both had a few biscuits that night and managed to finish up the whole batch the next day.  We’ll definitely make these again and I may even try the same mixture on other dough – I’d love to brush it on some pizza crust before baking or on crescent rolls before rolling since the ingredient ratios were just right for our tastes.  Another cooking club winner!

Sweet as Pie is off to a great start this year with an expanded pool of recipes.  In keeping with our annual January commitment to eat healthier, we started off this month’s selections with Skinny Chicken Enchiladas from www.skinnytaste.com.  I am always skeptical of anything called “skinny” but was very pleasantly surprised by this recipe.  It wasn’t “skinny” in the taste department and it was a breeze to put together on a weeknight.  Here’s how it came together:

I started by sauteing some garlic in a lightly oiled pan and then added chipotles, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, and salt and pepper.  After simmering for a few minutes, the sauce was done.  Super easy.

Next, I sauteed some onion and more garlic together.

Once the onion and garlic were softened, I added the chicken (I used part of a rotisserie chicken that I bought on sale at Publix to make this even easier), salt, cilantro (worth it to use the real stuff in my opinion), cumin, oregano, chili powder, tomato sauce, and chicken broth.  I used whole wheat tortillas for this recipe which were surprisingly soft.  I added some of the chicken mixture to each tortilla, rolled it up, and placed it in a baking dish.  There was enough of the chicken mixture to make eight evenly-sized enchiladas. 

Once the enchiladas were in the dish, I poured on the sauce and sprinkled on the cheese. 

The enchiladas baked (with foil) for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees.  I topped them with a little more fresh cilantro once they came out of the oven.

We served the enchiladas with Zesty Mexican Rice (which was easy and delicious too) and were especially excited to share it all with our friend (and Phillip’s coworker), Jeff.  The enchilada sauce was really good – we like a little spice so all of the chili pepper was a welcome addition to this dish.  Both boys went back for seconds, so it seemed to be a hit with them as well.  We would probably make this one again and I don’t think I would change anything about it unless I were to add some chopped onion or tomatoes (or pico!)  to the chicken mixture for a little texture.  I saved the leftovers for Phillip since he really liked this dish and complains that I always beat him to the leftovers.  He said that they reheated well, so this recipe would work nicely I think for planning some leftovers, making ahead to take to a friend or family member, and probably even freezing.  A yummy weeknight fiesta!