I am always reading. I check the news on MSN, I read the local paper, books and magazines. I also watch local TV and national news, and Good Morning America. I can't go to sleep at night until I've read for a few minutes, either fiction or non-fiction. I like to keep up with what's happening. Since I was up early this morning (5 a.m.) but not functioning enough to write, I checked out a few other blogs. I don't follow many blogs but recently I came across two that I think are worthwhile to share.
Both are well written and interesting, especially from a foodie's point of view and from a healthy one too. I am always looking for new ideas and better ways to cook at home and these offer ideas in abundance. You may want to check them out as well. The first one is written by a man in Canada who has discovered a love of cooking and eating well. In other words, a man after my own heart. Some of his recipes do NOT make the heart or waist healthy list, but some do. Some of his recipes contain ingredients that will not be found in our little hamlet such as birds eye chilies. (Readers, correct me if you've seen birds eye chillies locally, though after my chipolte experience, I'm not sure I want to see them.) Indeed I was surprised to see that he even had one of the same recipes that I do - Pizza Dip. I have not tried any of his other recipes but I will soon such as the cucumber and feta rolls. Check out closetcooking.com by Kevin Lynch. He has a sly sense of humor as well, as he claims to cook in a tiny closet sized kitchen.
The other blog I was immediately attracted to because the writer, a mother like me, tries to find healthy ways to feed her family and aims for a rainbow a day for good nutrition. She has a vast collection of recipes including some which are vegan or gluten free. I am trying her creamed corn buttermilk bread tonight. I like that it has whole wheat flour in it. Look for her at ricekernel.wordpress.com.
Both blogs have gorgeous photographs of which I am jealous. Hopefully my own photos will continue to improve as I learn more about my new camera. Anyway, I think you will enjoy these blogs if you like to cook as I do. Check them out today and try something new this weekend!
I'd like to mention a new local magazine that two friends of mine have collaborated on - Mid-South Latino. This bi-lingual magazine is aimed at the growing Latino population in Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri. I am honored that they have chosen to include my articles in their publication. If you are interested in reaching the Latino market for your business, you can contact Susan Ishmael or Alex Lorenzana at MSL@masterprintgroup.com.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Valentines Day
Happy Valentines Day to all! I believe that our relationships are so important to our well being so be sure to show your love to your friends and family today. What are the ways you show your love? Everyone is different and expresses their love in unique ways. It is a good idea to try to tune into how to best show love to those in your life. For instance, nothing says "I love you" to me like a home cooked meal or flowers. Others might prefer a gift or a massage. Your children might appreciate extra one on one time or a treat such as movie tickets. Just taking the time to figure out what that special someone really wants shows your love.
So how is the cardiologist's family celebrating? Valentines brings lots of chocolates and fancy dinners and our house is no different. I gave my kids a small amount of chocolate candy, my husband a book and he gave me roses. Tonight I am cooking brown sugar glazed salmon, garlic pasta, strawberries and pineapple salad with a chocolate pie for dessert. I was aiming for a mixture of healthy and decadent. While salmon is heart healthy, it is also a rich and impressive dish. The strawberries give that red Valentines touch and what would Valentines be without a chocolate dessert?
Here is the recipe for the salmon. As usual, it couldn't be any easier. For the garlic pasta, all you do is boil the required amount of pasta per person and while that cooks, sauté as much minced garlic as you want in a large quantity of olive oil, maybe 3 to 4 Tbsp. When the garlic is lightly brown and fragrant, toss with the cooked pasta and sprinkle with a bit of fresh parmesan and about 1/4 cup of bread crumbs. Add more olive oil if the pasta is too dry.
Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. white wine
4 to 6 salmon fillets
Mix above ingredients, except fish. Place salmon fillets in a large zip top bag and add marinade. Marinate for 3 to 5 hours. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until fish is just done. Yum!
Remember, Valentines Day comes but once a year but that doesn't let us off the hook the other 364 days. Work on your relationships every day and the benefits will definitely come back to you.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
How Much Exercise Is Enough?
After working out this morning, I began to think about my exercise routine. I have been feeling that it's time for something new as I don't feel my muscles are improving. Then I began to wonder. How do you know you are getting enough exercise or just going through the motions and wasting your time? As usual, I started doing a bit of research.
For those just starting out, who may be more loose and pillowy than lean and mean, it is probably best to start any exercise routine slowly. You don't want to injure your body and thus set yourself back right at the start. You should expect muscle soreness from most any activity you choose. Muscle soreness is a sign that you have worked your muscles and that they are getting stronger. Give yourself a couple of days rest between workouts to recover at first but don't quit just because you're sore. You should try to push yourself to the point where you are a little fatigued, breathless and sweaty.
Learn to distinguish between soreness, even if it's pretty bad, and true pain which indicates an injury. Yes, it may hurt to get out of bed and walk the next couple of days after starting an exercise routine but if you really can't get up or move a limb, you've gone too far and possibly injured yourself. Also, check with a doctor or work with a specialized trainer if you have a medical condition like Parkinson's or have had a previous heart attack. Remember that soreness leads to stronger muscles; however, you don't have to be sore after a workout to strengthen your muscles.
Once you have achieved a level of fitness, move up and challenge yourself. Working with a trainer periodically can help motivate you to try harder. A trainer can access where you are and help you set new goals. A study released by the Harvard Medical school shows that to really be fit, you should do strength training of all major muscle groups at least twice a week. Ideally you should also perform 30 minutes of moderate aerobic workouts 5 times a week, as well as balance and flexibility training. If your routine has become easy or you no longer can see improvements in your body, it is time for a change. Otherwise, there is no point in wasting time at the gym.
To ease or prevent soreness, always include a cool down phase. Jog or walk about 10 minutes then stretch all major muscle groups. When stretching, move slowly, breathe and don't force the stretch or you could injure something. However, do make sure you are feeling the stretch and achieving more flexibility over time. You can also try soaking in a hot tub or applying ice to a particular area. Also rest a day or two between secessions.
I'll leave you with these thoughts. A pound of muscle burns about 10 to 20 calories a day while a pound of fat burns only about 5 calories a day. Makes a good case for working out as it definitely helps you loose weight and keep it off. Those who work really hard, like athletes, can eat more of the food they love (but not junk food, that's always bad for you).
For those just starting out, who may be more loose and pillowy than lean and mean, it is probably best to start any exercise routine slowly. You don't want to injure your body and thus set yourself back right at the start. You should expect muscle soreness from most any activity you choose. Muscle soreness is a sign that you have worked your muscles and that they are getting stronger. Give yourself a couple of days rest between workouts to recover at first but don't quit just because you're sore. You should try to push yourself to the point where you are a little fatigued, breathless and sweaty.
Exercise can be as fun as dancing.
Learn to distinguish between soreness, even if it's pretty bad, and true pain which indicates an injury. Yes, it may hurt to get out of bed and walk the next couple of days after starting an exercise routine but if you really can't get up or move a limb, you've gone too far and possibly injured yourself. Also, check with a doctor or work with a specialized trainer if you have a medical condition like Parkinson's or have had a previous heart attack. Remember that soreness leads to stronger muscles; however, you don't have to be sore after a workout to strengthen your muscles.
Once you have achieved a level of fitness, move up and challenge yourself. Working with a trainer periodically can help motivate you to try harder. A trainer can access where you are and help you set new goals. A study released by the Harvard Medical school shows that to really be fit, you should do strength training of all major muscle groups at least twice a week. Ideally you should also perform 30 minutes of moderate aerobic workouts 5 times a week, as well as balance and flexibility training. If your routine has become easy or you no longer can see improvements in your body, it is time for a change. Otherwise, there is no point in wasting time at the gym.
To ease or prevent soreness, always include a cool down phase. Jog or walk about 10 minutes then stretch all major muscle groups. When stretching, move slowly, breathe and don't force the stretch or you could injure something. However, do make sure you are feeling the stretch and achieving more flexibility over time. You can also try soaking in a hot tub or applying ice to a particular area. Also rest a day or two between secessions.
Exercise can be really hard.
I'll leave you with these thoughts. A pound of muscle burns about 10 to 20 calories a day while a pound of fat burns only about 5 calories a day. Makes a good case for working out as it definitely helps you loose weight and keep it off. Those who work really hard, like athletes, can eat more of the food they love (but not junk food, that's always bad for you).
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Confession Of SuperBowl Sized Food
Some occasions just provide us with an excuse for indulgence, don't they? The Superbowl has become so much more than a football game that even those of us who couldn't care less about the game have something to do on Superbowl Sunday. First of all, there's the food and parties, second the commercials. My Superbowl tale of woe starts on Friday evening, when PMS was in the ruling house. I crave salty foods so when we ate at a local Mexican restaurant, I had plenty of chips and salsa. Thankfully, I skipped the cheese dip, knowing my weakness. I also skipped the margarita because I am pretty snobby about drinks and if they can't make one better than my husband, why waste the calories?
I had an unpleasant experience at the restaurant. We ordered ceviche which if done correctly is raw fish or shellfish, cooked in citric juices only, with fresh herbs, tomatoes and onions. It is usually delicious so we decided to give it a try. I ordered the FISH ceviche due to my shellfish allergy. However by the end of dinner, my lip began to tingle and swell, getting a little numb, like it does when I've had shrimp. Since my physician friends and husband have all warned me that I could have a really bad reaction if I persist in eating shellfish, such as difficulty breathing (see my post on food allergies, March 2011), I felt somewhat nervous. It turned out to be minor and by the time we were home watching a movie, the swelling was going down.
The over indulgences continued on Saturday. I bought some sweet potato muffins that have a chunk of chocolate on top plus some cinnamon raisin bread for breakfast. I did walk over a mile at the first Walk With A Doc but that was not enough to ward off the impending disaster.
This Superbowl Sunday we had decided to just celebrate with family but I had planned plenty of Superbowl sized junk food, for our house anyway. My sister made a wonderful new corn salsa which I will share in a moment. I had lots of chips and dip. I made a large pot of chili which isn't that bad until you hear that I served the chili over spicy fries with cheddar cheese on top. I used Boar's Head sharp cheddar which is a fine cheese by the way. Pat and Barry had beer, which is gross, but Barry made me a Lemon Boom Boom which is vodka with muddled fresh basil and lemon juice. I can pretend it's somewhat healthy. We topped off the feast with chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting that my daughter made from scratch. Yummy yum yum!
The sorry truth was revealed Monday morning when the scales showed I had gained a nifty three pounds. Now that may not sound like much but if I ignore that and continuously add to it, I could be up 30 lbs. in no time. And we all know that it is so much easier to gain it than to lose it. So, back to better ways and I'm happy to report that I have already lost 1 of those ugly pounds by sweating and eating sensibly.
The corn salsa was the healthiest thing we ate on Sunday. It actually has lots of fresh herbs and vegetables and is awesome served over grilled chicken or fish as I'm going to do with the leftovers tonight. I'm also adding some chopped avocado to it. I picked this recipe up from Jennifer Smith who taught a continuing education class recently at ASU on entertaining.
Corn Salsa
16 oz. bag of frozen corn, thawed
1 red bell pepper and 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 red onion chopped
2 to 3 tomatoes, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp. canola oil
1/2 tsp. salt
2 limes juiced
Dressing: 1/2 cup canola oil, 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, 2 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder, 1 1/2 Tbsp. cumin.
Heat oven to 350. Place corn on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to promote even roasting. Mix corn with other vegetables and toss with dressing. May be served warm or chilled. Don't worry that there is too much chili powder and cumin; trust me, it is just right. This is even better the next day or two as the flavors blend so this is great to make ahead.
The moral of this sad tale is that those over indulgences do add up and over time, can aid in wrecking your precious health. The best thing you can do for yourself is to watch your weight, exercise and eat righteously 95% of the time.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
What Would You Do With $600?
Tuesday you learned that the average family of four throws away $600 of food each year. What can you do to save some of that money and avoid wasting food? The answers are not always easy. Sometimes, the yogurt carton bursts open in my children's lunch bag and spills out. That is an accident. But when your child simply doesn't eat what is in their lunch, that is wasteful.
Children waste an enormous amount of food. Try to teach them the importance of saving money by not throwing away food. Instead of saying there are starving children in Africa, say that the money saved can be used to take the family to the movies. Buy drinks in the smallest possible cans and bottles as they often can't finish the larger sizes. Serve their meals on small plates and give them small portions. It is better to give seconds than to throw away uneaten food. Don't feed them large snacks too close to dinner and then expect them to eat a large meal.
Here are some other ways to cut back on the food we throw out.
1. To find out if a food is still safe to eat, or whether it should be tossed out, use the website stilltasty.com. This is a great resource and breaks food down into all kinds of categories.
2. Plan out your meals for several days, make a grocery list and stick to it. Impulse purchases are most likely to be thrown out.
3. Serve smaller portions. Just like children, our eyes are sometimes bigger than our stomach, plus it's a great way to control the waistline.
4. Save and use leftovers. My family often has leftover night which means I don't have to cook. Saves time and money and people can eat at different times if schedules are conflicting.
5. If you try a new cereal for example, and find you don't like it, give it to a friend or neighbor. You could also share some of your meals with a neighbor who is single or elderly and might appreciate the thought. Just make sure to take it over right away and not 5 days later.
6. Be sure you will use what you buy. If you always wanted to try Meyer lemons and suddenly find some in your local store, be sure you know how you will use them so they don't spoil before you find a recipe.
7. Buy just the amount needed at bulk food stores instead of how much the regular store decides you need.
8. If you find you can't use something before it spoils, freeze it. Just make sure you wrap it properly.
9. Shop more frequently. Food bought on Saturday might spoil before Thursday's dinner.
10. Clean out and organize your refrigerator. If you can't see it easily, it might go bad.
11. At restaurants, skip the extra bread basket or fries if you won't eat it. I don't like potato chips so I will ask that they not be put on my plate with a sandwich.
12. Don't fall for bargains. Studies from Harvard Business School show that stocking up on certain items leads to overspending and waste. Sam's Club is a great example. If you do shop there, you might want to split some things with a friend or neighbor. The bread is always packaged as two loaves and my family can't eat it all before it is stale so I skip it. Same with many of the vegetables and fruits there. I can't use 5 or 6 avocados.
The important thing is to be aware and make an effort to save food. If you keep your pocket book in mind, it is easier to do. On the other hand, don't beat yourself up if you do need to toss something. Just try to do better next time.
Children waste an enormous amount of food. Try to teach them the importance of saving money by not throwing away food. Instead of saying there are starving children in Africa, say that the money saved can be used to take the family to the movies. Buy drinks in the smallest possible cans and bottles as they often can't finish the larger sizes. Serve their meals on small plates and give them small portions. It is better to give seconds than to throw away uneaten food. Don't feed them large snacks too close to dinner and then expect them to eat a large meal.
Here are some other ways to cut back on the food we throw out.
1. To find out if a food is still safe to eat, or whether it should be tossed out, use the website stilltasty.com. This is a great resource and breaks food down into all kinds of categories.
2. Plan out your meals for several days, make a grocery list and stick to it. Impulse purchases are most likely to be thrown out.
3. Serve smaller portions. Just like children, our eyes are sometimes bigger than our stomach, plus it's a great way to control the waistline.
4. Save and use leftovers. My family often has leftover night which means I don't have to cook. Saves time and money and people can eat at different times if schedules are conflicting.
5. If you try a new cereal for example, and find you don't like it, give it to a friend or neighbor. You could also share some of your meals with a neighbor who is single or elderly and might appreciate the thought. Just make sure to take it over right away and not 5 days later.
6. Be sure you will use what you buy. If you always wanted to try Meyer lemons and suddenly find some in your local store, be sure you know how you will use them so they don't spoil before you find a recipe.
7. Buy just the amount needed at bulk food stores instead of how much the regular store decides you need.
8. If you find you can't use something before it spoils, freeze it. Just make sure you wrap it properly.
9. Shop more frequently. Food bought on Saturday might spoil before Thursday's dinner.
10. Clean out and organize your refrigerator. If you can't see it easily, it might go bad.
11. At restaurants, skip the extra bread basket or fries if you won't eat it. I don't like potato chips so I will ask that they not be put on my plate with a sandwich.
12. Don't fall for bargains. Studies from Harvard Business School show that stocking up on certain items leads to overspending and waste. Sam's Club is a great example. If you do shop there, you might want to split some things with a friend or neighbor. The bread is always packaged as two loaves and my family can't eat it all before it is stale so I skip it. Same with many of the vegetables and fruits there. I can't use 5 or 6 avocados.
The important thing is to be aware and make an effort to save food. If you keep your pocket book in mind, it is easier to do. On the other hand, don't beat yourself up if you do need to toss something. Just try to do better next time.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Do You Throw Away Money?
Back in August, I wrote about hunger in America. Now I am writing about the overwhelming amount of food wasted in America each year. Before you skip this post, give me a minute to explain why you should read on.
We all must eat so a large part of every household budget goes towards food. When you throw away food you are throwing away your hard earned dollars. Interested now? You might not be able to control the price of gas, your mortgage, rent or electricity but your food budget is pretty flexible. I've been keeping track of how much money I can save by using coupons and buying things on sale. So far, I'm on track to save about $2000 in one year for a family of four plus four cats and a dog. Another way to save money on food is to cut out chips, cokes and sweets, or at least cut back drastically. You can shop for the brands that cost the least and have meatless dinners once in awhile. The final way to save money is to plan carefully so that food isn't wasted and thrown away. The whole family must learn the importance of not wasting food.
On Thursday, I'll give you several tips to prevent wasting food, thus saving money. Food waste has a huge economic and environmental impact so I'll end today by giving you some startling statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency and other sources. I hope it will make you think before you toss anymore food.
Americans throw away 34 million TONS of food each year. That is roughly equivalent to 8500 average sized cars. Only paper is a larger component of msw or municipal solid waste but we recycle more paper. Food waste is the single largest msw component in landfills and incinerators. We spend about 1 BILLION dollars each year to dispose of wasted food. At the home level, we throw away about 470 pounds of food for a family of four each year or about $600 worth. What could you do with $600?
Food waste has a tremendous environmental impact. Rotting food in garbage cans attracts rodents and smells bad. Rotting food in landfills produces methane gas which has 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
Much of the food waste could be composted which has many benefits. Composting improves the soil which reduces the need for fertilizer, water and pesticides. It is easy to compost right at home by collecting fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and egg shells. You can place these scraps in a fancy store bought com-poster or create one of your own. I do this everyday and avoid putting quite a bit of food in the trash.
A tremendous amount of food could be redistributed to those in need. Day old bread is perfectly good but is often tossed unless a food recovery program is nearby. With so many in our country going hungry each day, we need to do better than throwing away usable food.
So it seems that there are economical, ethical and environmental reasons to avoid food waste. I hope you'll check back on Thursday for some tips to save food.
We all must eat so a large part of every household budget goes towards food. When you throw away food you are throwing away your hard earned dollars. Interested now? You might not be able to control the price of gas, your mortgage, rent or electricity but your food budget is pretty flexible. I've been keeping track of how much money I can save by using coupons and buying things on sale. So far, I'm on track to save about $2000 in one year for a family of four plus four cats and a dog. Another way to save money on food is to cut out chips, cokes and sweets, or at least cut back drastically. You can shop for the brands that cost the least and have meatless dinners once in awhile. The final way to save money is to plan carefully so that food isn't wasted and thrown away. The whole family must learn the importance of not wasting food.
On Thursday, I'll give you several tips to prevent wasting food, thus saving money. Food waste has a huge economic and environmental impact so I'll end today by giving you some startling statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency and other sources. I hope it will make you think before you toss anymore food.
Americans throw away 34 million TONS of food each year. That is roughly equivalent to 8500 average sized cars. Only paper is a larger component of msw or municipal solid waste but we recycle more paper. Food waste is the single largest msw component in landfills and incinerators. We spend about 1 BILLION dollars each year to dispose of wasted food. At the home level, we throw away about 470 pounds of food for a family of four each year or about $600 worth. What could you do with $600?
Food waste has a tremendous environmental impact. Rotting food in garbage cans attracts rodents and smells bad. Rotting food in landfills produces methane gas which has 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
Much of the food waste could be composted which has many benefits. Composting improves the soil which reduces the need for fertilizer, water and pesticides. It is easy to compost right at home by collecting fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and egg shells. You can place these scraps in a fancy store bought com-poster or create one of your own. I do this everyday and avoid putting quite a bit of food in the trash.
A tremendous amount of food could be redistributed to those in need. Day old bread is perfectly good but is often tossed unless a food recovery program is nearby. With so many in our country going hungry each day, we need to do better than throwing away usable food.
So it seems that there are economical, ethical and environmental reasons to avoid food waste. I hope you'll check back on Thursday for some tips to save food.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
National Peanut Butter Day
Since my whole family loves peanuts and peanut butter, I can't imagine how we all missed National Peanut Butter Day on January 24th. Had I known, we would have celebrated with all our favorite ways to eat peanut butter. It would have been hard to choose between peanut butter pie and chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting for dessert, but we could have started our meal with a nice peanut butter soup and moved on to Peanut Butter Chicken for the main course. I must admit that the girls in the family are the big peanut lovers, followed by my husband and then my son. My son doesn't like Peanut Butter Chicken but I will share the recipe and you can try it for yourself. I have been known to have a serious peanut addiction that meant I ate a small amount of peanuts every day. The last couple of months I haven't felt like eating peanuts though so I must have finally burned myself out on them.
Peanut butter has an interesting history. It is thought to have originated in South America where the Indians ground peanuts into a kind of paste. The modern version of PB probably started in the late 1800's with Dr. Kellogg of Kellogg cereal fame, who made peanut butter and served it to his patients as a nutritious protein. Other Americans perfected the spread or invented machines to grind up the peanuts. The National Peanut Board claims that Americans eat more than 6 pounds of peanut butter a year. Wow! Peanut butter is very nutritious though high in monounsaturated fats and calories. It is high in fiber, protein, vitamins B3 and E and iron. Peanut butter contains more antioxidants than apples and carrots and contains Resveratrol, a natural anitmicrobial agent that can protect against cancer, viruses, and has anti-inflammatory properties.
I didn't cook with peanuts or peanut butter until several years ago. Peanut butter was for PB and J's. Once we were having an early American dinner when the kids were really young and I made peanut butter soup. The rest of the family wasn't crazy about it but I discovered that peanut butter had so many more possibilities. The following recipe is is pretty easy and a different from your ordinary chicken. You'll like it if you like peanuts.
Peanut Butter Chicken
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
8 pieces of chicken such as legs or thighs
Place these ingredients except for the chicken in a microwave safe bowl and microwave 30 seconds at a time until easy to mix. Place chicken in a large zip top bag, add marinade and close bag. Massage chicken to make sure it is all coated then marinate about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile mix the following ingredients in a pie plate or similar dish.
1/2 cup ground peanuts
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. red pepper
After 30 minutes, remove chicken from bag and roll in the peanut/crumb mixture. Place in a lightly greased baking dish and bake at 375 for 35 minutes or until lightly brown and done.
Peanut butter has an interesting history. It is thought to have originated in South America where the Indians ground peanuts into a kind of paste. The modern version of PB probably started in the late 1800's with Dr. Kellogg of Kellogg cereal fame, who made peanut butter and served it to his patients as a nutritious protein. Other Americans perfected the spread or invented machines to grind up the peanuts. The National Peanut Board claims that Americans eat more than 6 pounds of peanut butter a year. Wow! Peanut butter is very nutritious though high in monounsaturated fats and calories. It is high in fiber, protein, vitamins B3 and E and iron. Peanut butter contains more antioxidants than apples and carrots and contains Resveratrol, a natural anitmicrobial agent that can protect against cancer, viruses, and has anti-inflammatory properties.
I didn't cook with peanuts or peanut butter until several years ago. Peanut butter was for PB and J's. Once we were having an early American dinner when the kids were really young and I made peanut butter soup. The rest of the family wasn't crazy about it but I discovered that peanut butter had so many more possibilities. The following recipe is is pretty easy and a different from your ordinary chicken. You'll like it if you like peanuts.
Peanut Butter Chicken
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
8 pieces of chicken such as legs or thighs
Place these ingredients except for the chicken in a microwave safe bowl and microwave 30 seconds at a time until easy to mix. Place chicken in a large zip top bag, add marinade and close bag. Massage chicken to make sure it is all coated then marinate about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile mix the following ingredients in a pie plate or similar dish.
1/2 cup ground peanuts
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. red pepper
After 30 minutes, remove chicken from bag and roll in the peanut/crumb mixture. Place in a lightly greased baking dish and bake at 375 for 35 minutes or until lightly brown and done.
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