Thursday, February 28, 2013

Spicy Chipotle Peanut Crusted Chicken & Roasted Cauliflower

This evening I was in the mood for something a little different for dinner so I made Spicy Chipotle Peanut Crusted Chicken.  I made a coating out of coarsely ground peanuts chipotle chili powder, paprika, onion power and a little cayenne.  I rolled boneless chicken breasts in the nut mixture and baked them at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes since they were so thick.  I also made oven roasted cauliflower.  I cut up a head of fresh cauliflower and tossed the florets in a large bowl with some olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, roasted cumin and smoked paprika to help give them a slightly smoky flavor.  I spread the cauliflower florets out in a single layer on a baking sheet and baked them at 425 degrees for 10 minutes and then flipped the florets over and baked them an additional 10 minutes until browned.  I topped them with a little shredded Parmigiano Reggiano after pulling them out of the oven.

Our dinner last night's was a "clean out the fridge" meal that had all kinds of random things in it.  I had actually snapped a picture and intended to post it last night but fell asleep on the couch before I did!  I will post a quick picture of last night's meal (since I already took the pics) so you can see what I'm talking about when I say "clean out the fridge".  LOL  I had a pack of chicken cutlets I needed to use that I sliced into thin strips first.  This is what I put into my "mish-mosh"....I sauteed sliced chicken cutlets, sliced andouille sausage links, 1/4 of a diced onion, 2 small sliced yellow squash and 1/2 a package of sliced mushrooms -- then added 1/2 a jar of arrabbiata sauce and 1/4 cup leftover shredded romano cheese and simmered everything for 30 minutes and then stirred in 1/4 cup of cream to help blunt the spiciness a bit.  I served it over grated zucchini that I had left in a bowl from earlier in the week.  It was kind of like a "Jambalaya-Arrabbiata-Alfredo-ish" sort of concoction.  It was strange -- but in a good way?  I did manage to get rid of all the odds and ends in my fridge though!  :-)   I also did another test run last night on my cannolis and hope to post the recipe for those tomorrow.  Below are pictures of tonight's dinner as well as last night's "clean out the fridge" special.  Enjoy!

Spicy Chipotle Peanut Crusted Chicken & Roasted Cauliflower
BOOM!
Last Night's "Clean out the Fridge" Special   :-)

2 comments:

Kathleen F Turner said...

Everyone has leftovers, and you can do so many things with them. I once heard a prayer for a leftover meal: Lord, bless this food and the hands that repaired it!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

You are so right Kathy! I didn't have enough left of any of of those ingredients to do anything with -- but together I turned them into a meal -- almost like having a magic wand! :-) Love that prayer too -- "the hands that repaired it"