Cilantro Lime Chicken

If you are a fan of Chipotle burrito bowls (aka naked burritos), then you will LOVE this!  This is a great slowcooker meal that takes almost no time to prepare, and it made my apartment smell amazing!  Best of all, I know exactly what went into it!

Here is the original recipe.  I made it fresh, but you can prepare everything ahead of time and just freeze it in a large freezer bag, then thaw overnight and throw it in the crockpot!

Ingredients:

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Juice from 2 limes

1 bunch (pkg) fresh cilantro, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 16oz bag of frozen corn

1 16oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 red onion

1 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Throw everything into the crockpot and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.  I chose to prep in the morning and cook on low, but I found that 7 hours was plenty of time.  I also mixed everything around occasionally to let all of the chicken have a turn soaking up some flavor.  The lime, corn, and chicken produce quite a bit of liquid, so don't worry about the chicken getting dry.  When there was about an hour left, I shredded the chicken into large chunks.  I served it with some steamed brown rice (should have saved some cilantro and lime juice to kick up the rice!) but I'm sure this would be great with tortilla chips or however you like to eat Mexican food!  It's meant to serve 6, but I made it stretch to 8-9 servings because some of my chicken breasts were rather large!

I highly recommend this recipe!  I'm very excited about eating this throughout this hectic week of catching up on microbio! :)  Enjoy!

Reflection Time

February 13.  A year ago today, I received an email saying I was accepted to my top choice medical school, where I am currently nose-deep in microbiology!  This last year has undoubtedly been the most difficult and stressful year of my life so far, but I am amazed at how much I have accomplished and learned in just 12 months.

In April, I wrote my honors thesis and graduated from college amidst the 150+ bomb threats that plagued my school.  I learned to cook more than just the basics, and I started this blog, which already has a couple thousand views!  Over the summer, I was responsible for 14 teenage girls in a month-long program.  I definitely underestimated how stressful the job would be and how very little sleep I would get, but it was still an amazing experience, and I'm looking forward to returning next summer (this time in charge of more stuff! Oh boy...)

And then medical school...

I've met hundreds of new people this year, 140+ in my class alone, and I feel like I entered into a huge family.  I love my class and all the friends I've made, and I can't imagine being anywhere else.  As hard as school is and as much as I complain about all the studying I have to do, I am very thankful to be at this great school, surrounded by such amazing people!

I learned pretty much every major organ, muscle, nerve, and blood vessel in the human body.  I learned biochemistry, genetics, and cell bio/pathology in 3 months.  I made it through immunology alive.  I learned how to take a patient's medical history.  I perfected the steps of a normal physical exam.  I still can't see the fundus of the eye, but I'm getting there!  I took my first history and physical on a REAL patient.  And I realized that I really like pediatrics, even though I've never been a fan of screaming babies.

I've changed so much in the last 6 months alone.  When we did the Meyers-Briggs personality test before matriculation, I was a strong introvert.  My personality since starting medical school has changed so much that many of my classmates can't believe that I didn't score as an extrovert!  I went out of my comfort zone to join an a cappella group, and I love it!!

Also in the last year, I got two new nephews who I can't wait to squeeze when I see them next! :)

With that amazing year behind me, I'll have to work extra hard to make this next year even more amazing!  Things I'm looking forward to:

• Neuroscience! Finally something I have a background in!
• Getting fit!
• Training for a 5K with my mommy :)
• Learning to ride a bike (that's right! I don't know how...yet!)
• Being a counselor again this summer
• Starting my 2nd year of medical school!

So here's to an even BETTER year, and what better way to start out than by cuddling newborn babies tomorrow? :)

White Cheddar Spinach Turkey Burgers

I know I haven't posted in a while, but I also haven't tried out a new recipe since the ginger chicken last month. Immunology kinda took over my life for a while, but I'm back to cooking some healthy and delicious food!  Check out this mouth-watering burger:

It definitely tasted as good as it looked!  And by using 99% lean ground turkey, veggies, and just a bit of cheese, it's a very healthy alternative to a regular burger.  The original recipe (here) was for a chicken burger, but I had a bunch of turkey in my freezer, so I made the swap!  I tweaked some other parts of the recipe, too: the onions didn't look too good at the store, so I used a shallot instead, and left out the green onion and cayenne pepper.

Makes: 7 burgers

Ingredients:

1 pack (about 1.5 lbs) of 99% lean ground turkey

Fresh baby spinach (as much or as little as you like!)

1 large shallot, minced

1 large clove of garlic, minced

3 oz grated sharp white cheddar cheese

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp lemon juice

Bread crumbs (optional)

Parsley, salt, and pepper to taste

Mince the garlic and shallot and cook over low heat until browned and sweating (adding a little salt helps).  Add the spinach and cook until wilted.  Once the mixture is cooked, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.  The original recipe recommends putting the mixture through a food processor, but I don't mind the larger chunks of the aromatics or full pieces of spinach (plus I don't have a food processor).  In a bowl, mix the turkey, cheese, vinegar, soy sauce, and lemon juice together.  Add the onion/garlic/spinach mixture once it's cool.  Add salt, pepper, and parsley to taste.  If the meat is sticking to your hands, add breadcrumbs until it is not sticky anymore.  I barely had to add any.  Form the mixture into 7 patties and broil for 8 minutes on each side or until cooked through.  To keep the meal healthy, serve on a whole wheat sandwich thin with some more fresh spinach!

It smelled wonderful!

I just made one burger and froze two raw patties for later, and I plan to use the rest for making meatballs, which are much more versatile and microwave-friendly for taking to school.  Should still be just as tasty! :)

Slow Cooker Ginger Chicken

I haven't posted in a while because the last couple weeks have been a whirlwind!  We got back to school on January 2, had 7 days of pathology lecture and workshops, then had our exam this past Friday!  The huge upside to having the exam on Friday is that we have a completely FREE weekend with nothing to study for!  We start Immunology tomorrow, and from what the upperclassmen say, it will be a handful. So I broke out my new Crock Pot for the first time, and I'll be eating for a week!

Ignore the thyme!!!! That's for another recipe...oops!

I chose a relatively simple recipe for the first use: Gingery Chicken from the Slow Cooker Revolution cookbook by America's Test Kitchen.  I plan on eating it throughout the week with brown rice or sweet potato.  I'm off to my friend's house for dinner tonight, but I tasted this and it is quite delicious!  No knife needed, the chicken just shreds!  The prep was easy, except for grating the ginger.  Ginger is a great flavor, but grating it is such a hassle!!

I changed the recipe a bit to make it healthier.  The original recipe calls for skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts, but I used boneless skinless.  I also used olive oil instead of canola oil.

Onion, ginger, garlic

Ingredients:
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts*
Olive oil
1/2 large onion, minced (or 1 med-small onion)
3 tbs ginger, grated
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tbs sugar
3 tbs low-sodium soy sauce

*(The chicken breasts I had were huge, so I cut them in half horizontally.  This also allowed them to cook through faster.)

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet, and brown the chicken breasts.  Remove them from the pan and place them on a plate to the side.  Add the onion, ginger, and garlic to the pan and saute until the onion is translucent (this mixture smells amazing!!).  Add the flour, mixing for about a minute.  Slowly add the chicken broth while stirring, and you'll be left with a thick mixture.  Add this to the slow cooker, then stir in the sugar and soy sauce.  Place the chicken in the slow cooker, and set it on low for 4 hours.  Mix everything around every hour so that each piece of chicken has time in the sauce.  Serve!

Also, I started a little project on New Years Day - a picture a day!  I've been documenting it on a separate blog: 2013-365.  I usually try to post something interesting or unique about each day, considering much of my time is spent in class and studying, so hopefully I can keep that up!! :)

Baked potato chips (again!!)

One of my new kitchen gadgets from Christmas was a mandoline.  I got to try it out over break when I made baked potato chips (original post) for a New Year's Eve appetizer feast!  I had to leave for Pittsburgh early on the 1st, so I stayed in with my parents for a quiet New Year's celebration.

Using the mandoline!

Perfect slices

Baking to a crisp!

Healthy homemade potato chips!

Our New Year's Eve feast: honey-lime shrimp, the chips, cheese and crackers, hummus, and chips for our leftover Mexican chicken/Spanish rice/black bean fiesta!  Yum!

OMG CHICKEN!

Chicken is easy to make, but it gets boring quickly.  I have a ton of chicken recipes pinned on Pinterest and several packs of chicken sitting in my freezer, so I need to start actually making these recipes!  Some pinner called this "OMG chicken," but it's just a much healthier version of Hellman's Parmesan crusted chicken, using fat free plain Greek yogurt instead of the mayo.  While the chicken cooked, I made a quick veggie stir-fry with mushrooms, yellow squash, orange bell pepper, and grape tomatoes.  Yum!

Did you know that a serving of chicken is about the size of a deck of cards and weighs 3-4oz?  I usually cut chicken breasts in half (butterflying them like this, but cutting the whole way through to make 2 pieces).  I'm still left with more than a serving of chicken (4-6oz depending on the size), but it's a lot more manageable and cooks more evenly.


Here's the easy recipe for "OMG Chicken"!

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, each butterflied in half
1/2 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Sprinkle of Italian breadcrumbs

Mix the yogurt and cheese together and slather the mixture over the chicken.  Sprinkle some breadcrumbs over the top and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  How easy was that?

Puppy in the Snow!

Since I've been home, there have been two or three small snowfalls.  Each was just a couple inches and melted soon after, but we took my dog out to play in the snow the other night.  He loves catching snowballs!