I’m back with another delicious family-friendly dinner recipe, courtesy of Rachael Ray’s Look + Cook cookbook. When I was flipping through the cookbook to get to the Pesto Presto Chicken recipe a few weeks ago I kept seeing all these recipes I made from the book when I first got it that were so good. I was suddenly craving all these dishes I hadn’t made in years because I always have a million new recipes on the agenda. I decided these Crispy Baked Chicken Cutlets with an Orange and Arugula Salad needed to be pulled out of the archives immediately so here we are.

I’m so excited I rediscovered this dish because I am always looking for new ways to cook chicken for dinner. This dish has a fresh twist on your classic baked chicken cutlets by including some orange zest in the breadcrumb mixture. The chicken cooks at a high temperature to get super crispy without any frying. One quick tip is to move the cooked chicken cutlets to a wire cooking rack as soon as they are done cooking in the oven so they stay extra crispy until you’re ready to eat them.

Since I tend to cook and photograph during the day when the light is best, Matt and I eat a lot of reheated food for dinner. I was so bummed Matt couldn’t try this dish right when I made it because it definitely lost its crispiness. He still loved it, but this isn’t a dinner you will want to make ahead of time. Which is fine since it’s so quick to make!

I love recipes that are an all-in-one deal so I don’t have to worry about additional side dishes. While the chicken is baking, you make a very simple salad of peppery arugula, juicy orange segments, fresh yellow tomatoes, red onion and a little extra virgin olive oil. Season with some salt and pepper and it’s the perfect fresh accompaniment to the crispy chicken. I especially love the sweetness the oranges bring to the chicken when you get a bite of the two of them together.

I hope you all enjoy this quick and tasty dinner dish!

Recipe adapted from Rachel Ray’s Look + Cook.
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Before I dive into how I came up with this recipe or start describing what it tastes like I first need to address the obvious question: what is jackfruit? I did not know the answer to this until a couple months ago. Technically, jackfruit is a relative of figs and is indeed a fruit. However, the more relevant answer is that it has the texture of chicken and while the fruit is young it has a neutral taste letting it take on the flavor of whatever sauce you slather over it. For these two reasons, in the last year or so jackfruit has become increasingly popular as a meat alternative for vegans and vegetarians. Now, it is important to note that the flesh of the jackfruit does not have much protein at all so I would recommend serving it alongside something high in protein, such as this Three Bean and Roasted Cauliflower Salad.

Jackfruit is, however, low in calories, and I can definitely see why it is popular as a meat alternative. Once I shredded up this jackfruit and cooked it in some barbecue sauce, it looked exactly like pulled pork. Matt thought it was pulled pork when I served it and after he took a bite – and after me telling him it was jackfruit – he looked at me and said, “You’re sure this isn’t pork?” While it doesn’t have the richness of pork, the texture is almost identical to a pulled chicken or pork and smothered in barbecue sauce no one would ever be the wiser.

I had heard of jackfruit, but got the opportunity to try it a couple months ago at our Whole Foods. They had it in the burrito bar and let me try a sample. I loved the texture, but it was too spicy for me. I decided I needed to do more research and make my own version so I could enjoy it. Remember how the Elote Hot Dogs came to be? I think I’m noticing a pattern here with my inability to consume spicy foods…

Anyways, I discovered that you can buy jackfruit in a can. I got mine from Trader Joe’s. What you are looking for is green jackfruit. Make sure you do not buy the one that comes in syrup. The one from Trader Joe’s comes in a brine instead of water so I just made sure I rinsed them well before cutting. For cutting tips check out my little diagram below.

After it’s all cut up, the jackfruit gets cooked down with some onion, garlic and barbecue sauce before being shredded and loaded up onto tortillas. I made a quick and healthy slaw for the tacos with nonfat Greek yogurt to balance the flavors of the barbecue sauce. You can use any barbecue sauce you prefer, but I highly recommend my easy homemade barbecue sauce that is free of refined sugar.

Matt and I both really enjoyed these tacos and I’m looking forward to making them again soon! Have any of you tried jackfruit before?

 

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Loco Moco Tacos! The name just sounds fun and I promise you it’s super tasty as well. Traditionally, loco moco is a Hawaiian comfort food dish composed of white rice, a ground beef patty, a fried egg and gravy. This version stays pretty true to the classic except we’re swapping out the brown gravy for a quick homemade teriyaki sauce.

In the fall of 2016, Matt and I went to California for our one year anniversary. On our way from Los Angeles to Anaheim we went to the Venice and Santa Monica beaches for the day. I scoped out all the food ahead of time so we went right to Komodo in Venice, which is an Asian fusion restaurant known for their tacos and burritos. I ordered a few different tacos and one of them was their loco moco taco – and of course I got a picture.

All of the tacos were really good, but there was something about the loco moco taco that had me thinking about it even two years later. I can definitely see why it’s considered comfort food; the combination is so simple, but it feels familiar and decadent.

The teriyaki sauce is salty, sweet and sticky, which goes really well over the mini beef burgers and steamed white rice.

The best part is when the runny yolk drips down and smothers everything with richness. Actually, the best part is that the whole thing is a taco! Comfort food wrapped up in a warm tortilla – perfect for Taco Tuesday!

I still want to try the original version of loco moco with the gravy, but for now I’m definitely into this teriyaki loaded taco. Have you ever had loco moco?

 

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Yes, this recipe literally is strawberries and peanut butter, or the nut butter of your choice, wrapped inside a tortilla. Yes, I realize you probably don’t need a recipe to create that. Yes, I did go ahead and post it anyways. The reason is that I’m always looking for new lunch ideas for Matt and I. I like switching up my meals a lot because a) there’s so many different meals out there to try and b) I get bored of having the same thing all the time. I figured other people on here might also be looking for some lunch or snack-time inspiration so here we are!

Peanut butter and jelly is such a good classic combination, but sometimes I’m a little hesitant to use jelly because of all the added sugar and ingredients. That’s where the fresh strawberries come in. You still get the taste of a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich without all the additional ingredients. This simple Strawberry Peanut Butter Wrap is just a starting point – you can completely change yours up to whatever suits your preferences or mood. You all know I love a good recipe with the possibility for options!

I think it’s safe to say that I currently have a butter addiction. I’m not talking about actual butter though; I’m talking about nut and seed butters. Right now in our kitchen cabinets we have creamy peanut butter, peanut butter with flax and chia seeds, crunchy almond butter and dark chocolate sunflower seed butter (my favorite!). There’s also cookie butter, but that’s for special occasions. This wrap could be made with whichever nut or seed butter you want. You could even combine a couple! Okay, mind blown. Anyways, you can also switch up the fruit, but I think berries like raspberries or blackberries would taste best in this wrap. If you want to get a little extra you could always add in a little granola.

If you are a peanut butter and jelly fan then you are going to love the Food Network Magazine’s September muffins that I’ll be sharing next Friday!

 Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for my referral. This does not affect the retail cost of the item. Thank you for supporting Lemon & Mocha!

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I don’t know where to start with these Greek Chicken Bowls. I know it’s unusual for me to be at a loss for words when it comes to food, but I think it stems from there not being an interesting or exciting reason as for why I created this dish. There’s no restaurant meal these bowls are based on. The recipe isn’t adapted from some cookbook I like. I wasn’t making them with anyone particular in mind that loves Greek food or anything. I was simply trying to create a healthy lunch I could meal prep for Matt and I that wasn’t anything like any of the dishes I normally make. So that’s how these Greek Chicken Bowls came to be. Super uninteresting and definitely not exciting. But what is exciting is how a healthy meal can be so packed with flavors and textures.

These Greek Chicken Bowls have a few more components than my normal prepped meals, but all the components are so simple that I don’t even mind it. The star of the dish is the marinated chicken. It took me a couple tries to get it right, but the version I landed on imparts plenty of lemon and oregano flavor after the chicken has been baked with only thirty minutes of marinating time.

I also love that I always have all the ingredients right in my pantry or fridge so I can whip this Greek marinated chicken up any day of the week. I like using chicken tenders because they take less time to bake than chicken breasts. They also have more edges to soak up the Greek vinaigrette marinade making for even more flavorful Greek Chicken Bowls.

If you would rather grill your chicken, go for it! The juicy chicken gets served alongside some lemon cous cous, a quick cucumber salad and an easy yogurt mint sauce. I’m lemon obsessed and Greek food is big on lemon flavors so you knew I had to sneak it into multiple components! You could definitely make the chicken on its own and serve with different sides, but if you’re going to make more components than just the chicken I strongly recommend you make all four components. The chicken, cous cous, cucumber salad and yogurt sauce all balance each other and bring unique flavors to the dish creating that perfect bite!

 

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