Chicken and Beans

Chicken and Green Beans

This is an old 'what can I make with these things' type recipe back when I was setting off the fire alarm every month. New to fresh green beans, I didn't know what I was getting into. Now rice and green beans are in most of my dishes. Also before I knew how to take a picture...

Ingredients

-Chicken Breast
-Green Beans
-Half 'n Half

Creation
This is definitely a more Italian-style dish, due to the simplicity and leaving the integrity of the ingredients. Nothing but a salt and pepper sear on the chicken completely cooked on stove to make it really crunchy.

Boiled green beans with a little salt and lemon pepper. Very quick to make sure they still have a bite and the sauce. What I call White Sauce. Its a butterless reduction to maximize the whiteness. Plate and serve.

Simple, Tasty, and..

Pollo Verde

Pollo Verde

Yeah that's right. I'm calling this Pollo Verde and there isn't a mexican/spanish ingredient on the plate. Why cause I can... and 'Green Chicken' is a whole different dish... where the chicken in actually green. Go figure. This is one of my first attempts to be healthy and delicious. So featuring a sauteed chicken breast sitting on a scallion sauce (green), kale (really green), and green beans (really?). So how do we make it. Quite simple actually.... no really...

Ingredients

-Boneless Chicken Breast

-Fresh Green Beans
-Kale
-Scallions
-Garlic
-Lemon Pepper
-Half 'n Half
-Corn oil
-Dash of flour

Creation

So with all this green... and some chicken... where do you start? Well from looking at the picture you would assume a quick sear and then finished in the oven, but at the time I didn't have an oven safe pan so it was done entirely on the stove on medium low heat. I make do. I began with only two pots that weren't even mine.

So, chicken... salt and pepper and sauteed low and slow. Not something you hear very often. Next the green beans. Boiled in salty water very quickly so they are still bright green and have a bite. Set them aside. Not done yet though! However the pot can and should be emptied. Then refilled with a little oil.

In a small sauce pan heat some corn oil while mincing the scallions and toss them in (Mince because we need the juice to make the sauce green). This time a dash of flour is added to pull the sauce together a little more than usual.

Now for the Kale. Such healthy green. So in the pot with the oil. Toss in some kale and cook for a minute or two. Just to wilt a tad a soak up a little salt. Done. Turn heat up and replace them with green beans. Add a little garlic and lemon pepper. Done.

Hopefully the chicken is done at this point. I know I was a little apprehensive. So to plate... a little sauce topped with the chicken and then toss on the veggies. Done.

Grab camera and begin to eat.

Yes I just said grab camera and begin to eat... do you not take pictures of your food? You should start... especially when you make..

Maple-Glazed Tilapia

Maple-Glazed Tilapia with Fresh String Beans and Boiled Potatoes

This is a simple one pot, less mess dish. One day I found I had extra string beans and tilapia (Potatoes are always on hand), but I didn't want to have to clean a bunch of pots and pans. So instead of using my old stand-by, sauteing with salt and pepper, I brought a single pot of water to a boil and preheated the oven to 350. Then it was time to get down to business.

Ingredients

-Filet of Tilapia

-Fresh String Beans

-Russet Potatoes

-Maple Syrup

-Soy Sauce

-Teriyaki Sauce

-Lemon Pepper

Creation

First, mix the maple together the ingredient of the Maple Glaze. I didn't reduce the glaze because its going to be put on tilapia, a very mild fish. So this way is doesn't over-power the fish.

Salt and pepper the fish, wrap it in Aluminum foil and fill with the glaze, seal the foil and place in the oven.

Dice the potatoes to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut the ends off the string beans.

Bring a pot of salted water to boil and add a tablespoon or two of chicken bouillon. Or use mostly chicken stock if you are fancy unlike myself. We don't want chicken flavor throughout... just a hint.

Throw in (Well don't throw... that could potentially make your skin unhappy), place the potatoes in the water and let cook for about 10min or until they are cooked through. Remove from pot and place on the plate.

Replace with the beans and let them cook for about 5min. So they turn a bright green and still have a bite. Turn of stove and oven. We are done cooking!

But what about the fish. I haven't forgotten. The glaze and fish can now be removed and carefully placed on the plate. Keep the foil like a cup so the glaze can be poured on the fish.

Pour a little glaze of the fish, add salt and pepper to taste/garnish the veggies and that is how you make...