Easy Oven Baked Chicken with Veggies

I've been working on posting my go-to recipes on the blog. So far, I'm wrote about Boerenkool, Indonesian Pilaf, Crockpot Jerk Chicken, Soul Dust Chicken Skillet, Dutch Crockpot Casserole, Bubble and Squeak and Crockpot Hutspot. Most of my meals are made in the crockpot or on the stove, but today's recipe is made in the oven. It's a very versatile chicken dish that is easy to prepare for those days when you really want to get oven made and then sit and veg while it cooks!

Easy Oven Baked Chicken with Veggies
(download a printable-friendly version)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken breasts. You can use cubed, strips, or whole breasts. Easy.
• 1 potato per serving, cubed. I always cook extra, so I used 5 potatoes in the pictured meal. 
• Veggies of your choosing. Plan on one cup per serving. I used carrots here, because that's what the CSA delivered, but I've also used cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, squash, and zucchini--whatever is in season.
• 4 Tablespoons of your favorite seasoning mix. I used dry onion mix this time, but my favorite is Soul Dust mix. I've also used Italian dressing mix and ranch dressing mix. (You can find a great list of homemade spice blends to try here).
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil. 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Wash and chop potatoes into a small cubes. The potatoes take longer than the rest of the meal, so cutting them into small pieces ensures that everything is ready at the same time, which is the beauty of this meal.

3. Add 1 Tablespoon olive oil and 2 Tablespoons onion soup mix. (A packet of mix is usually 4 Tablespoons).

4. Place the potatoes along one side of your baking dish.

5. Repeat with the other vegetables, using 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil.

6. Place the veggies on the other side of your baking dish.

7. Finally, season the chicken with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and 2 Tablespoons of mix. Add the chicken to the center of the baking dish. You don't have to season your veggies separately, but I usually do because sometimes I mix up the seasonings. I really like the onion mix with the potatoes, but I love the soul dust rub on the chicken.

8. Cover the dish with tin foil. This isn't necessary, but I've noticed that it does help the potatoes cook evenly.

9. Bake for 1 hour. Dinner is ready when the potatoes are fork tender--they are firm enough to hold their shape but soft enough that you can stick a fork in them easily.

I like our dinners to be colorful. Usually, I have some green veggies in the mix, but since I didn't with this version, I added a small salad and fruit.

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Homemade Mama Chia

Up until a few years ago, the only thing that came to mind when I heard the word chia was the popular cha-cha-chia pets of my youth. (By the way, you can still buy them!)

When I started making food from scratch, I learned that chia is not only a fun decorative plant, but it's also a superfood with lots of health benefits. I notice a definite increase in energy and decrease in appetite and cravings when I eat them so I've been adding chia to my granola, yogurt, and tea for years. But recently I've become a big fan of Mama Chia drinks.

They are fruit drinks infused with chia seeds and they.are.delicious! They are also really pricey ($4 for a small bottle!) so they are definitely a rare splurge. Fortunately, I discovered that it is super easy to make at home. As you can see from the photo above, there are many variations on this recipe, so you can adapt the recipe depending on what you have on hand or whatever you are currently craving.

Ingredients:

(this makes a 32 oz. jar of Mama Chia)

• 3 T. chia seeds
• 1/2 cup water
• Juice 
• lime juice (optional)
• seltzer water (optional)

Instructions:

1. Add 3 Tablespoons chia to your glass jar. I like to make this in a jar because it makes it easy to shake up the drink when the chia seeds settle, and makes my drink portable. I'll often throw in a couple ice cubes and take it with me when I'm out and about.

2. Add 1/2 cup hot water to the jar. Every time I make this I am grateful for our Instahot dispenser. 

3. Give the chia seeds and water a little swirl or shake to make sure that all the seeds are wet. If needed, add more water. Then let the chia seeds sit for at least 10 minutes. They will expand and create a gelatinous texture. The longer you let the seeds sit, the thicker the liquid will become. If you want a thicker drink, you can make the chia/water mix before you go to bed and add the juice in the morning. Please note that the longer you let the seeds sit, the more water you will want to add. I would suggest at least a cup of water if you let the seeds sit overnight.

I should mention that the texture of this drink will likely cause people to love it or pass on it. It's not a typical liquid, but it's not thick like a shake or smoothie either. If you like bubble tea or similar drinks, you'll likely enjoy mama chia. 

4. After (at least) ten minutes, you can add the rest of your liquid. This is where the recipe gets loosey goosey. Basically all you need to do is fill up the rest of your jar with liquid. For a stronger taste, you could fill up the jar with any choice of your choice. For a more diluted drink, you could add half water and half juice. I like to add lemon or lime juice for a citrusy punch. 

5. And if you want a little bit of carbonation to your drink, you can add mineral water, club soda, or seltzer to the mix. Again, totally optional. Part of the fun of this drink is its versatility.

6. Finally, add your favorite juice. I'm been a little under the weather lately, so I've been guzzling cranberry juice. We just picked up some strawberries from our CSA, so I'm going to blend them up and make a strawberry version next. I also have some coconut water that I may use instead of water on a future batch. I think apple cider in the fall would be delicious!

7. Finally, give the jar a good shake and you are ready to enjoy!

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Boerenkool: A Dutch Comfort Dish

Boerenkool (literally, farmer’s cabbage) is form of Dutch stampot (translation: mashed pot). Stampot is a very popular Dutch comfort food, basically glorified mashed potatoes. Other forms include potatoes with carrots, endive or other vegetables. I never regularly bought kale until I learned to make this, one of my Dutch husband’s favorite meals. Now it’s a staple on our menu.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale with stalks removed
• 2.5 pounds potatoes, chopped into chunks
• 1 12 oz. smoked sausage
•  ½ cup milk (or unsweetened almond milk, for dairy-free families likes ours)
• 2 T. butter (or Earth Balance vegan butter stick)
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Wash kale, remove stalks, and roughly chop.

2. Cook kale in boiling water of ten minutes.

3. While kale is cooking, wash and chop potatoes.

4. Drain the kale.

Save the water if you have plants because when it cools, it's a nutrient-rich drink for them. (I have a black thumb, but I keep trying).

5. Pot potatoes in a large pot and just cover with water. My original recipe said to only cover half with potatoes, but the potatoes either got scorched or the top ones didn't get cooked, so cover them up.

6. Add drained kale on top of the potatoes.

7. Cut a slit in the smoked sausage, then add it to the top of the kale.

8. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes. The potatoes are done when you can easily slice a form through a piece of potato.

9. Remove sausage and drain the vegetables. Put the vegetables back in the pot and mash to desired texture.

Niels prefers a chunky texture, so we use a masher.

If you like a smoother texture, an immersion blender works really well.

10. Add milk and butter and combine. Add salt to taste.

11. Slice sausage and serve over mashed vegetables. Eet smakelijk!

If you like this recipe, feel free to make a copy of this printable version.

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Fun Food

Note: I used to have a food blog for a little while. Every once in a while I move a post over here to share. This post was originally posted in three years ago, shortly after our little guy turned two. (He's 5 now!)  

One day a few weeks, while we were walking around my hubby's hometown in the Netherlands, we hung out in a bookstore. I love bookstores in general, and now that my Dutch has improved, I'm able to (mostly) follow the instructions in Dutch cookbooks.

One of my favorite souvenirs from our trip to Holland was this Dutch cookbook for kids.

Roughly translated, the title is "Garnish with Kids" and it's full of step-by-step photos of fun meals for kids that look like animals and vehicles and things.

I haven't found anything similar in English...yet.

D and I have had lots of fun with these lunches. I've had to improvise quite a bit and my options are rather limited until we go shopping tomorrow, but it's been a really cool way to spend our long car-less days at home. (We'll getting a new car on Monday). One of D's favorite things is to "help" me cook. At least once a day, he'll pull a chair over to the kitchen counter and say, "Cook, Mommy?" Sometimes he'll go over to the pantry and start handing me seasonings. I love that he loves food, and this cookbook is an especially good way for him to appreciate the process of putting a meal together. For now, his job is to watch, help gather the ingredients, and most important, sample often!

A few of our recent creations:

Airplane

Fish

Star

Now that D is in preschool, we don't get to make as many fun lunches, but I recently made this rocket in honor of his love of space. 

You can find more fun kids meals on my Pinterest board.

Follow Jen | de Jong Dream House's board Culinary Creations :: Kids on Pinterest.

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Gevulde Speculaas (Stuffed Gingerbread Bars)

December 5 is a BIG day for our Dutch-American family. On this day, Dutchies around the world celebrate the arrival of Sinterklaas. I intended to write a post about the Netherland's version of a generous man in red, but that will have to wait til next year, because I'm going to share my favorite Sinterklaas recipe instead, and you can thank me all year round!

I was first introduced to the deliciousness of gevulde speculaas during my first Christmas in the Netherlands. I couldn't wait to to enjoy these gingerbread bars stuffed with almond paste again but I had to first translate the recipe from Dutch! 

Today we brought these bars, along with other Sinterklaas goodies and birthday cupcakes to our son's class and they were a bit hit. Both his teachers requested the recipe, so it was just the motivation I needed to get this post up before calling it a day!

Sinterklaas came to help me out.

 Ingredients: 

• 2 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoon speculaas spice (you can make your own with my recipe)
• 1 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• 10 Tablespoons butter (or dairy free alternative)
• 2 Tablespoons Almond milk
• 1 egg yolk
• 8 oz. almond paste
• Handful of whole almonds

Instructions: 

1. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add speculaas spice,sugar, and flour mix in a large mixing bowl. 

2. Slice butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture.

3. Combine until mixed well.

4. Add the milk and egg yolk.

5. Knead together until a slightly sticky ball forms.

6. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate overnight (or at least several hours).

7. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. Divide dough in half.

9. Grease a square pan and set aside. (I like to use my homemade non-stick spray)

10. Roll out the first half of the dough so that it will cover the bottom of the pan. Press dough into the pan so the bottom is evenly covered.

11. Spread the almond paste over the dough. If using paste from a can, break the paste into pieces and carefully spread out the paste without squishing through to the dough.

12. Roll out the second half of dough, and carefully cover the filling layer.

13. Press almonds into the dough in a block pattern so that cut pieces will each have an almond in the center.

14. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean when poked in the center.

15. Let cool before cutting into pieces.

Eet Smakeliljk!

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