Sofrito Chicken

After sampling a delicious braised Cilantro Chicken at The Food Truck Round Up a few weekends ago, I decided to make a Sofrito Chicken. Sofrito is a mixtures of braised vegetables that is often used in Spanish cooking. I can't tell you that it's just like mom's cooking since I've never had this before, but I can tell you that we enjoyed this recipe!

Sofrito Chicken (4 Drumsticks and 6 Thighs)
Time: 1hr 30mins

Ingredients:
- 2 Bell Peppers (seeds removed and chopped)
- 1/2 Bunch Cilantro
- 1 Onion
- 2 Roma Tomatoes
- 1 Banana Pepper
- 6 Cloves of Garlic
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste 
- 1-2 tsp Cumin
- Cayenne Pepper (Optional)
- Chicken (I used 4 drumsticks and 6 thighs)

1. In a large heated pan, add oil and cook chopped vegetables for 10-15mins. Add cilantro and spices at this time as well. 
2. Set aside sofrito in a bowl. Add the chicken to the pot and brown on both sides.
3. While the chicken is cooking, place sofrito mixture into a blender and blend ingredients to desired consistency.
4. Pour sofrito back into the pot and cook the chicken for 45mins-1hr. Once it starts boiling make sure to reduce the heat.
5. Serve with some rice/quinoa and enjoy!

Cinnamon Apple Yogurt Muffins

One of the perks of being a grown up...making muffins for dinner! While these are made slightly healthier than your average muffin, I promise they doesn't taste like cardboard. 
Note: I would recommend that you use a greased muffin pan instead of cupcake liners. I found that the lower fat muffins stick to the paper.

Cinnamon Apple Yogurt Muffins (Makes 20-22 Muffins)
Time: 45mins

Ingredients:

Muffin
- 2c Flour
- 2 Med Apples, Peeled and Core Removed (I used a Green and Honeycrisp)
- 6oz Chobani Cinnamon Apple Greek Yogurt
- 1 tsp Baking Soda & 1 tsp Baking Powder
- Pinch of Salt
- 2tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4tsp Nutmeg
- 1tsp Vanilla
- 1/2c Chopped Pecans
- 1 Egg & 1 Egg White
- 1/2c Brown Sugar
- 1/4c Oil (I used grapeseed oil)
- 1/2c Milk
- 1/4c Applesauce

Topping
- 1/4c Sugar
- 1tsp Cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix wet ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Mix together flour, baking soda/powder, and spices in another bowl. Slowly fold the dry mixture into your wet ingredients.
4. Take the diced apples and chopped walnuts and incorporate them into the mixture.
5. Spoon the batter into your greased muffin pans and top each muffin with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake for about 17-20mins. (I typically rotate the pans halfway through)

I would've loved to add an oatmeal streusel topping to these muffins, but I didn't have any oats! Next time!

Oh Kale Juice

Oh Kale Juice (Makes 20-24oz)
- 3 handfuls of baby kale leaves
- 1 Green Apple
- 1 Red Apple
- 1 Pear
- 1/2-1inch of Ginger
 * Health Benefits of Ginger

1. Slice fruit and remove core.
2. Begin juicing with fruit and alternate between kale and fruit. This will help reduce any backup of pulp.
3. Once you're done juicing the fruit and kale, you can try dropping in the pulp to extract more juice.

Add more kale or less fruit based upon your flavor preference! If you're new to juicing, you could try using more fruits and smaller amounts of greens.

Apricot Glazed Drumsticks

My husband has been requesting chicken for the past week so I finally decided to try a new recipe! After digging through my fridge I found leftover apricot preserves, sage, and dried cherries...perfect ingredients for apricot chicken!

Apricot Chicken (Serves 4)
Time: 1hr 15mins

Ingredients:
- 12 Drumsticks (You can use whichever cut you'd like or have on hand)
- 12oz Apricot Preserves or Jam
- 1/2 c Dried Cherries (Optional)
- 6-7 Leaves of Sage
- Salt and Pepper
- 1-2 Garlic Cloves or 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- Cayenne (Optional)
- 1/2 tsp Ground Mustard
- 1 tsp Vinegar (White Balsamic or Apple Cider

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place chicken down on a lined baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Bake chicken for 15mins.
3. Mix together preserves, cherries, sage, and spices together in a bowl. Rub glaze onto chicken and place back in the oven for 30-35mins. If the chicken gets too dark, place foil on top to keep it from burning.

We served ours with a simple green salad and baked sweet potatoes. Hope you enjoy it!