Instant Pot Poached Chicken Breasts

Instant Pot Poached Chicken Breasts

Mar 25, 2019 · 14 Comments

An Instant Pot gives you perfectly poached chicken breasts, like these Instant Pot Lemon Poached Chicken Breasts, in minutes! They are so easy and they come out perfect every time. Moist, tender and delicious! Great for meal prep!

Instant Pot Poached Chicken

When I bought my Instant Pot, it was love at first sight! I was amazed to find that I could cook frozen chicken breasts and that I could make chicken noodle soup all in one pot and super easy. Then I started wondering if the Instant Pot would be put to rest over the summer like my slow cooker had been in the past. What would happen to it when I turned to salads and lighter meals? It turns out, I had nothing to worry about.

One of my favorite warm weather meals is a salad with cooked chicken. In the past, I had purchased rotisserie chickens from the store, because their easy peasy. Well, guess what else is easy peasy. Poached Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot!

When a salad that I was getting ready to make called for poached chicken breasts, I turned to the Instant Pot. It was perfect!! Using a pressure cooker to poach chicken means it's quick, easy and comes out perfectly moist every time.

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Kale Blueberry Salad

Mar 24, 2019 · 13 Comments

Crisp tender kale, sweet blueberries and tangy feta cheese make a delicious kale salad! You'll love how easy it is to make this healthy salad, perfect as a side dish or a light lunch!

Kale Salads

Have you jumped on the kale salad bandwagon? We have here at the Sidewalk Shoes household. We have them every week! The crazy thing is I haven't been posting my kale salad recipes! What's up with that?!

Well, don't worry, I started taking notes and taking photos and I'll be sharing lots more kale salads with you in the future!

I love kale salads because I can make enough to have leftovers the next day for lunch. A regular salad becomes limp and unappetizing, but a kale salad is still yummy the next day!

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Luxie Cat Playing with Toy

Mar 22, 2019 · 21 Comments

Calico kitten playing with toy mouse.

Luxie Kitten and Her Mouse

I hope you don't mind that once again I am sharing older photos. These are from November 2015, when Luxie was about 4 months old. She had come a long way from the stray kitten that was rescued from a car engine. She was a little ball of energy, playing with her toys constantly!

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Blueberry Elderflower Martini

Mar 21, 2019 · 8 Comments

A simple blueberry cocktail that really lets the blueberry flavor shine through. When you combine an elderflower martini and a blueberry martini, you end up with this delicious and fruity blueberry elderflower martini featuring gin, elderflower liqueur, blueberries and lime juice.

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Lemon Vinaigrette

Mar 20, 2019 · 4 Comments

Once you taste this Homemade Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing, you'll never use store bought dressing again! So easy and delicious and you know all of the ingredients in it! Perfect salad dressing on almost any salad!

Don't Buy Store-Bought Salad Dressing!

Seriously. Do not buy salad dressing from the store! Have you looked at the list of ingredients on the dressing? What is all that stuff? Things I can't even pronounce!

Store bought dressings can be high in sodium, sugar, preservatives and some even contain MSG. This article from Eat This, Not That breaks down 20 of the Best and Worst Store-Bought Salad Dressings. So, if you want to keep an emergency bottle of salad dressing on hand, you can work from that list. But really, make your own!!

It takes maybe all of 5 minutes to put together a quick and easy vinaigrette. This lemon vinaigrette dressing that I'm sharing today is my go to dressing. With only 5 ingredients and barely 5 minutes to prepare, perhaps I should have called in my 5 in 5 dressing! It's also worth noting that you recognize and can pronounce all 5 ingredients.

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Instant Pot Sesame Ginger Rice

Mar 19, 2019 · 12 Comments

This Instant Pot Sesame Ginger Rice is going to become your go to rice recipe! With only 4 ingredients and so easy to make, there is no need to serve plain rice anymore! Rice, ginger, sesame oil, and salt are all you need to make this easy and delicious Instant Pot side dish!

Instant Pot Rice

We make a lot of Asian style recipes, like this Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry, and we serve most of them with rice. We usually use either plain white rice, plain jasmine rice, or plain brown rice.

Nothing wrong with plain rice. But then I started thinking about it. What if the rice also had some flavor? Wouldn't that make the dish even better? Or what about when you're serving a protein over rice, like salmon or chicken breast?

It turns out that it doesn't take much effort at all to take rice from plain to oh-so-good. It's even less effort when you let the Instant Pot do the work for you!

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Barbecue Chicken, Bacon and Cilantro Pizza

Mar 17, 2019 · 25 Comments

Naan pizza is a delicious and easy weeknight dinner that you can have on the table in under 30 minutes! This will become a family favorite with barbecue sauce, chicken, bacon, and smoked gouda cheese! Top with cilantro if you're a cilantro lover!

Naan or Flatbread Pizza

Have you discovered the joy that is flatbread pizza? Don't get me wrong, I know it's not going to take the place of a pizza made with a perfect hand tossed crust. But you know what it does do? It allows you to have pizza any day of the week in under 30 minutes!

Any type of flatbread works great, I like to use naan, I love it's organic shape and bubbles of risen dough.

Using flatbread or naan for pizza allows you to be even more creative in your toppings. We absolutely love the sweet and tangy combination in this Fig, Brie, Prosciutto and Walnut Pizza. I am also a firm believer in that everything is better with an egg on it, proven with this Croque Madame Pizza.

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Coco Kitty on the Sidewalk

Mar 15, 2019 · 15 Comments

Coco Kitty at Sunset

I'm continuing to work my way through my backlog of kitty cat photos. I am down to 1,194 unedited cat photos in my Lightroom folder. Probably to motivate myself, I should do a quick look through them and delete any obviously unusable photos.

Today's photos are from November 2015! It's Coco kitty on the sidewalk in front of our house. You can just barely see the glow of the setting sun lighting her from the the back.

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Blackberry Martini

Mar 14, 2019 · 10 Comments

This Blackberry Martini is gorgeous and so refreshing! It gets an extra boost of flavor from cassis. Just four ingredients: vodka, cassis, blackberries and lime juice are all you need to make this delicious fruity martini!

Fruity Cocktails

As soon as all the spring and summer fruits start appearing at the Farmer's Markets and the grocery stores, my mind immediately turns to fruity cocktails. There is just nothing better than sitting on your back porch, sipping a refreshing fruity mixed drink.

Blackberries are one of my favorite fruits to use in fruity drinks with vodka. This Blackberry Ginger Beer Cocktail makes it's rotation every time blackberries are on sale. This Blackberry Vodka allows you to enjoy your blackberry cocktails all year long!

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Strawberry Freezer Jam

Mar 12, 2019 · 44 Comments

Don't take my word for it, you must make this easy and delicious Strawberry Freezer Jam. No canning needed and ready in about 30 minutes! You'll love pulling jars of this out of the freezer all year long.

No Canning Required

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against canning. I love opening my pantry and seeing jars of Crisp Dill Pickles and my favorite pickled beets. But I also love opening up my freezer and seeing gorgeous colored jars of freezer jam.

If I may be so honest, what I really love is the effort to output ratio in this freezer jam.

It takes 20 minutes, really, and the outcome is amazing. I don't know about you, but I frequently gauge my cooking by a ratio. The ratio of my effort vs. the outcome. A good recipe, in my opinion, should have an output that far outweighs my effort (or at least be well worth the effort).

This easy jam recipe wins on all counts.

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Rotisserie Chicken Recipes

Mar 10, 2019 · 1 Comment

These Easy Leftover Chicken Recipes will make it so easy to put a healthy dinner on the table, thanks to a rotisserie chicken. Healthy, easy and delicious!

Healthy Rotisserie Chicken Recipes

I usually get a rotisserie chicken every week. There is just something about grocery shopping day that makes me want to not cook a complicated meal. So, I bring home a rotisserie chicken. Sometimes I just serve it heated up with a salad and sometimes I use it to make an easy leftover chicken recipe.

You'll find an assortment of healthy rotisserie chicken recipes, easy to make and most can be on the table in about 30 minutes. They are all delicious! These also work if you just happen to have some leftover chicken in the fridge!

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Coco Kitty Through the Seasons

Mar 8, 2019 · 16 Comments

Coco Kitty Through the Seasons

First of all, thank you very much to everyone who commented and offered advice about my eye problems. It's not any better, but then again, it's not any worse. Being a half-full kind of person, I'm going to take the "not any worse" as good news. I don't go back to see my doctor until the beginning of April, so I probably won't have any updates until then.

I am continuing to work my way through my backlog of kitty cat photos. These are some photos of Coco from 2015! They are loosely grouped together, just because they represent different seasons.

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Blood Orange Martini

Mar 7, 2019 · 8 Comments

This Blood Orange Martini tastes as amazing as it looks! A gorgeous color, made with freshly squeezed blood orange juice, vodka, and simple syrup. One of our favorites!

What is a Martini?

I had one blood orange left from my recent blood orange shopping spree. I had already made a Blood Orange Whiskey Sour and a Blood Orange Margarita. I spent a couple of days trying to decide. I only had one blood orange left, I needed to make it good.

I tossed around the ideas of a blood orange daiquiri, but I wanted something even simpler. I stood in front of my shelf filled with cocktail books (doesn't everyone have a shelf filled with cocktail books) and randomly chose one to flip through. It immediately fell open to Martinis. Fate? Chance?

So, what is a Martini? It used to be that a martini meant gin and vermouth, and some will insist that is the only true martini. Then vodka was added as an alternative to the gin. The gin brings more botanical notes to the martini and vodka brings a smoother simpler flavor.

However, with today's craft cocktail renaissance, the definition of a martini has become more loose and fluid. I found this, When is a Martini No Longer a Martini an interesting read. It talks about all the options open to bartenders these days, calling them "Cocktail Impressionists." Personally, I'm all for loosey goosey martini definitions, as you can probably tell from this Blood Orange Martini.

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Bulgur Salad

Mar 5, 2019 · 9 Comments

This quick and easy whole grain salad is so delicious! This will become your favorite bulgur recipe! Bulgur, cucumbers, dried cranberries, green onions, and parsley tossed with a tangy olive oil and lemon juice vinaigrette. Makes a great light lunch, a healthy side dish and it's perfect for potlucks and picnics.

What is Bulgur?

I never stop to marvel at the access to food I have today. Foods that I never heard of growing up. Like harissa, couscous or even pho. You can also add bulgur to that list.

We are trying to eat more whole grains in our house. I've found that I'm not a huge fan of whole wheat pasta, I think it's flavor sometimes overwhelms the sauce. Wheat berries, rye berries, spelt, and whole wheat couscous are all good, but my new favorite is bulgur. Bulgur originated in the Mediterranean and is a common ingredient in many Mediterranean recipes.

Bulgur is so easy to cook! It is a wheat grain that has been cracked and partially cooked - making it extra easy for you to cook it. To cook bulgur all you have to do is put it in a bowl, pour in boiling water, cover and soak for about 30 minutes. That's it!

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Chicken, Date and Quinoa Bake

Mar 3, 2019 · 17 Comments

This Chicken and Quinoa bake is so easy and delicious! Chicken thighs bake in one pan with quinoa, dates and pine nuts! Crispy baked chicken thighs, toasty pine nuts, sweet dates, and zesty lemon add up to the perfect easy weeknight meal! Everyone loves this healthy chicken casserole!

The New Chicken and Rice

One of the first meals I remember cooking over and over again in college is chicken and rice. It was the perfect easy one dish meal. Throw some rice in a 13x9 pan, add some onions, maybe peas, maybe mushrooms. Top with chicken breasts, poor broth or water over it, bake.

When I came across this recipe for chicken baked with quinoa in an old Donna Hay magazine, it reminded me of those chicken and rice recipes. Toss everything in a baking pan, top with chicken and bake - only with a modern spin - quinoa instead of rice!

Is Quinoa Better For You Than Rice? I'm glad you asked that! Yes, it is. It has fewer calories, but the big savings is in carbohydrates. White rice has almost 15 times more carbohydrates than quinoa and quinoa provides more fiber and more protein.

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Luxie Kitty Grooming

Mar 1, 2019 · 13 Comments

Luxie Kitty as a Kitten

No new kitty photos this week for several reasons. One - it rained for days and days and days. Two - I still have 1,222 cat photos in my Lightroom cats folder to edit. So, I really need to work my way through those before adding new photos. Three - I've been having some eye issues lately and I have trouble seeing the back of the camera.

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Blood Orange Whiskey Sour

Feb 28, 2019 · 9 Comments

This Blood Orange Whiskey Sour tastes as good as it looks! With it's gorgeous orange color and it's perfect combination of citrus and whiskey, it's the perfect whiskey cocktail!

Bright orange red cocktail garnished with a cherry and a blood orange slice.

Blood Orange Cocktails

I am trying to squeeze as much out of this blood orange season as I can. Get it … squeeze. Ha! I crack myself up sometimes!

Before you even read about this blood orange whiskey sour, you have to go check out my Blood Orange Margaritas, possibly the best margarita that I’ve ever had/made/drank/enjoyed.

So, now you’re ready to run to the store and pick up some blood oranges, right? Make sure you pick up enough for the margaritas and for these whiskey sours, believe me, you want to.

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Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Feb 26, 2019 · 4 Comments

Everyone loves this delicious Mediterranean Orzo Salad! Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives and tangy feta cheese in a zippy lemon vinaigrette. Perfect for a light lunch or as an easy side dish. A favorite at our house.

Mediterranean Diet

Have you heard how good the Mediterranean Diet is? Other diets seem to come and go or feature lots of eat this, don't eat that. What I love about the Mediterranean Diet is that it's easy to follow and it makes sense.

You avoid red meats, processed foods and sweets and eat more fruit, vegetables, grains, beans and legumes and lean protein.

My other favorite thing about the Mediterranean diet is that it includes all the flavors of Greece. I love Greek food and it's ingredients. Cucumbers, tomatoes, kalamata olives, lemons, feta cheese - yes to it all!

I also love the Moroccan flavors with warming spices like cinnamon. You don't have to have a tagine for this Easy Chicken Tagine.

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Ham Fried Rice

Feb 24, 2019 · 23 Comments

Don't get takeout when you can make better than takeout ham fried rice!

It's the perfect weeknight dinner, so quick and easy and is our favorite leftover ham recipe!

Green plate filled with ham fried rice.

After we adopted our girls from Vietnam, as you can imagine, we ate a lot of rice. And noodles. And rice. And noodles. You get the picture. One of this dishes that was in our regular rotation was ham fried rice. For whatever reason, it was ham, not shrimp or pork or even chicken, ham always.

We would occasionally order fried rice from the stall at the mall, and while we liked it, we didn't like it as well as our homemade fried rice. It was heavy on the rice and light on all the other good stuff. So, we dubbed our homemade fried rice - "Better Than Takeout Fried Rice." It really is.

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Kitty Cats Helping

Feb 22, 2019 · 18 Comments

Kitty Cats Helping (or Not!)

Every Wednesday, I gather up the grocery store sale ads and plan my menu. This involves getting out my planner, my laptop and cookbooks and magazine with recipes that I want to try.

Since it's been raining every day and Coco only goes outside for a quick minute, this also involves Coco helping. It begins simple enough with Coco sitting on my planner. You might also notice that I have Evernote open on the laptop. I keep my weekly menus stored in a note, that way if I'm at the grocery store and they don't have something, I can open the note and see what I was planning on using it in and seeing if I can make a substitution.

Note - these photos were taken with my phone, not my DSLR.

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Blood Orange Margaritas

Feb 21, 2019 · 33 Comments

Gorgeous red orange color and so smooth, these Blood Orange Margaritas are the best margaritas ever! Full of fresh, crisp flavors that are perfect for sipping.

Click here to pin these Blood Orange Margaritas now!

Two glasses of deep red blood orange margaritas.

The Best Margarita Recipe Ever

I celebrate all the major holidays - including National Margarita Day.

Wait...what? It's not considered a major holiday? Well, it should be because nothing else delivers like a perfectly prepared margarita. I'll take margaritas in almost any form, but once I discovered these blood orange margaritas, I knew I had a favorite.

Oh, I don't like to play favorites - with my children or my margaritas. But c'mon, you know that one child that is just a teensy bit higher up on your list? This margarita is that child.

So smooth. So crisp. So perfect.

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Quick Pickled Asparagus

Feb 20, 2019 · 39 Comments

Asparagus makes the best refrigerator pickles!

These are tart and crisp and require no canning! Pickled in a wine brine, these asparagus pickles are perfect for brunch, snacks, on a charcuterie board, or as a side dish.

Two jars of asparagus refrigerator pickles.

Have you discovered the joy that is quick pickles? They are called either quick pickles or refrigerator pickles. They are simply pickles that you make that don't require any canning. Since they aren't canned, they must be refrigerated.

Refrigerator pickles are so easy to make! They are the perfect small-batch preserving method for when you have some vegetables that you need to use up or want to save for later.

Like these refrigerator asparagus pickles. I had some asparagus that had been sitting in my produce drawer for four days. I had no plans for it, but I didn't want it to go bad. Quick pickles to the rescue!

If you're wondering how long you can keep refrigerator pickles, most will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 months! I recommend that with these asparagus pickles, you use them up within a month. So, I took a vegetable that would have lasted only a few more days in my produce drawer and turned it into something we could snack on for a month!

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Harissa and Yogurt Baked Chicken

Feb 19, 2019 · 27 Comments

The tenderest, most flavorful chicken ever!! An amazing marinade of harissa and yogurt makes chicken so tender with just the right amount of spice! Everyone loves this chicken and you'll love how easy it is!

Click here to pin this Harissa and Yogurt Baked Chicken now!

Yogurt Marinated Chicken

Have you discovered the joy that is yogurt marinated chicken? The calcium in the yogurt breaks down some of the proteins in the chicken, making it so tender.

How long to marinate chicken in yogurt - you only need about two hours to get the benefits of the yogurt marinade.

If you don't have the full two hours to marinade the chicken, don't worry. I've just slashed the chicken and applied the yogurt and harissa and baked it. You don't get the full benefits of the tenderizing qualities of the yogurt, but you still get plenty of flavor!

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Pomegranate Smoothie

Feb 18, 2019 · 22 Comments

Yogurt, bananas, pomegranate juice and blueberries make this Pomegranate Smoothie so easy and so delicious! Naturally sweet with no added sugar! Makes a great healthy snack or dessert!

Click here to pin this Pomegranate Banana Smoothie now!

Freezing Bananas for Banana Smoothies

Do you want to know the secret to extra creamy smoothies? It's simple. Bananas. I use bananas in almost all of my smoothies. They add a creamy richness and seem to pull all the other flavors together.

How to freeze bananas: I keep bananas in my freezer at at all times. I peel the bananas and cut each one into 4ths. I freeze them on a tray and then place them in a freezer bag or a lidded container. Whenever I need a banana for a smoothie, I just pull out 4 chunks and know that I have about one banana.

When to freeze bananas: The frozen bananas never get completely frozen because of their natural sugar content. The bananas will not continue to ripen once placed in the freezer, so freeze them when they are as ripe as you like them. I usually let them become nice and spotty.

Do frozen bananas lose their potassium: luckily potassium is not affected by freezing!

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