CSA Week 10 & Chicken Dinners

Wow, CSA Week 10 already?!?! Actually its Week 11 (I'm about to pick up my CSA), but yet again I'm a week behind.  Mainly because I know you guys want to see what I actually do with my CSA goodies, right? In the mix:

Green Beans

Asian Pears

McIntosh Apples

Onions

Tomatoes

Corn

Romaine Lettuce

and...

BUTTERNUT SQUASH!

And with these fun ingredients, one of the first things I made was Pizza!

I made a Kale/Butternut Squash/Bacon Bechemel Pizza.  
Ingredients:
Store Bought Pizza Dough
2 Pieces of Bacon, Cooked and Crumbled
Kale Chips
Butternut Squash, Cut in 1 inch pieces, roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper
Bechemel Sauce (Made with a roux of butter and flour, cream)
Mozzarella Cheese
Instructions:
Roll out pizza dough on cookie sheet.  Spread Bechemel Sauce over dough.  Cover with Baked Kale Chips, Squash, Crumbled Bacon and Mozzarella Cheese.  Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

In addition, my CSA goodies made an appearance this past weekend in my Panzanella Salad and Grilled Corn.   

Last night I had some fun with Chicken.  I made a lot of food yesterday so I don't have to cook tonight!  First up, Buffalo Chicken Bites.  I had a ton of Buffalo Wing Sauce from my Buffalo Chicken Burgers so I wanted to do something with it and who doesn't love buffalo wings?  So why not use Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts to make bite size pieces of mouthwatering chicken.

Buffalo Chicken Bites
Ingredients
3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into bit size pieces
1/2 Package of Seasoned Shake N Bake Mixture
1/2 Cup of Panko Breadcrumbs
1 Cup of your Favorite Buffalo Wing Sauce
3 Tablespoons of Honey
Instructions:
Preheat Oven to 350. Pour Seasoning Mixture and Panko Breadcrumbs into bowl.  Mix Chicken bites with Mixture until coated.  Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and add Chicken. Bake for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, add sauce and honey to another bowl and microwave for three minutes.  Take chicken out and add to sauce mixture and mix well, then serve!

Serve with Ranch Dressing or Blue Cheese.  (Yes I know I say I don't like white condiments, but I do like them when eating spicy food like buffalo fingers!)

The other Chicken dinner I made was Tex Mex Buttermilk Chicken over Creamy Buttermilk Polenta.  I bought buttermilk for some recipe for my BBQ and I was looking to finish it up so I found two recipes that looked interesting.  I did slightly fry this chicken tender to get this nice crunch.

Tex Mex Buttermilk Chicken over Creamy Buttermilk Polenta
inspired by Rachael Ray
Ingredients
1 Cup of Flour
1 Cup of Buttermilk
Assorted Spices- I used Chili Powder, Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Poultry Seasoning, Salt and Pepper
4 Chicken Tenders
Vegetable Oil, 1/2 Cup for Frying
2 Cup of Chicken Broth
1 Cup of Buttermilk
1 Cup of Cornmeal/Polenta
1/4 Cup of Cheese of Choice-Shredded (I use Monterey Jack)
Instructions:
In a large pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. In a bowl, combine the chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, poultry seasoning. In a shallow bowl or plate, combine the buttermilk and half of the spice mixture. In another shallow bowl or plate, combine the flour and the remaining spice mixture. Season the chicken tenders with salt and pepper. Using tongs (or your handy hands!), dip the chicken tenders in the buttermilk, then coat with the flour; repeat for a second coating. Working in batches, add the chicken fingers to the skillet and cook until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain on a rack.  While frying heat broth and milk over medium high heat.  Once boiling, add in 1 cup of cornmeal and lower heat.  Stir often for 20 minutes until all combined.  Take off from heat and add in cheese until combined.

Two great uses to get rid of extra buttermilk you may have lying around the house.


Running Update:  Went to Physical Therapy this morning and got checked out. My physical therapist told me to ice 3-5X a day and no running until Sunday.  But he thinks I will be fine.  Another common wear and tear injury of long distance runners, he says.  I got stim and an ultrasound done today and I'm hoping it will all be gone by Sunday since my first 20 Miler is coming up!  I doubt the pain will be completely gone because you're going to have some pain if you run 20 miles. See here.  And if you don't, you're either really lucky or ... really lucky.
Happy Wednesday!