Here is a quick, simple recipe from Everyday Food magazine using just 5 ingredients! This is perfect when you need an easy way to spice up some plain chicken. The tangy flavor is great for fall, with just a kick of heat from red pepper flakes.

Spicy Apricot-Glazed Chicken
from Everyday Food

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat broiler. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken on broiler pan.

Combine apricot preserves and red pepper flakes. Brush half of the mixture over the chicken.

Broil chicken 5-7 minutes. Flip chicken and brush with remaining apricot mixture. Broil an additional 5-7 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink.

Another new recipe from the new kitchen! For my second meal, I adapted a recipe from Cooking Light magazine originally called “Orange-Ginger Skillet Chicken.” The recipe was designed to make ahead and take camping or to a cookout, but works just as well made immediately. To balance the citrus flavors, I added earthy mushrooms.

Macaroni is only a suggestion, you could also use egg noodles, rotini, or even brown rice. Though this is mostly an all-in-one meal, I would suggest a side salad or steamed vegetables to complete the meal.

Above: Okay, I cheated and used canned mandarin oranges. So sue me.

Orange-Ginger Chicken with Macaroni
adapted from Cooking Light

1/2 cup orange juice
3-4 chopped green onions
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp ground coriander seed
1 1/2 lb chicken breast tenders
8 0z sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped orange sections
3 cups uncooked macaroni or similar shaped pasta
Combine first 8 ingredients in a medium bowl. Place chicken tenders in the mixture and chill for 15-20 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions, about 6-8 minutes, until just al dente (still slightly firm). Drain and keep warm.

Over medium heat in a large skillet, saute mushrooms in a small amount of oil. When near tender, add chicken mixture to pan and increase to medium-high heat. Cook 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through until no longer pink.

Add pasta to skillet and toss well to coat. Sprinkle orange segments on top. Remove from heat and cover, allow to set 2-3 minutes before serving (this will allow the orange segments to warm without breaking).

Above: James wasn’t feeling well, so I came home and made some “comfort food.”

Well, it’s finally here! The first meal at the new apartment, complete with dinner guests. This recipe is from Real Simple magazine. It combines some of my favorite things: sweet potatoes, stir-fry, garlic, and hoisin sauce. Hoisin sauce is the Asian version of ketchup (it goes on everything!). Prepare the sauce first, then the stir fry.

For wine, I served Gewurtztraminer, which is as hard to pronounce as it is to spell (ga-VERZ-tra-mee-ner). This wine is fruity and lush, with a semi-sweet to almost medium-sweet taste. It is well known as one of the few wines that compliment Asian cuisine, particularly spicy dishes. Fetzer from California produces a great variety with a reasonable price: about $7-$9 a bottle.

To complete the dish, I prepared Vigo’s Saffron Yellow Rice to serve with the stir-fry. While normally I reserve this for Mexican dishes, but the flavor also goes well with Asian cuisine.

Garlicky Hoisin Sauce
from Real Simple

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
3 green onions, white parts only, chopped (reserve green parts for stir-fry)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp sugar

Heat a skillet or small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat for 30 seconds. Add the scallions, garlic, and pepper flakes. Cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 1/2 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.

Garlicky Hoisin Beef
from Real Simple

2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb flank or boneless sirloin steak, thinly sliced
1 red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/3 cup water
1/3 to 1/2 lb snow or sugar snap peas
3 scallions (green parts only, reserved from sauce), cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
1 recipe Garlicky Hoisin Sauce
cooked rice or noodles, for serving

Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 2 tbsp oil and heat for 30 seconds. Add the steak, working in batches if needed, and stir-fry until cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Reduce heat to medium-high, add remaining oil, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits, and add the bell pepper and cook, stirring constantly for 10-15 seconds.

Add the sweet potato and water, cover partially and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are near tender. Add the peas and scallions, cook for 1 minute. Add the Garlicky Hoisin Sauce and increase the heat to high. When it starts to bubble, add steak back to the pan. Toss ingredients and heat until warmed through, about 1 minute. Serve immediately over rice or noodles.

CNN reported during these economically tough times, more folks are turing to home cooking (see Chilly Economy Fires Up Home Cooking).  The irony is that this new “trend” has driven up the price of basic cookware and cookbooks.

During the packing-moving-unpacking process, I realized just how many cooking utensils I own that never really get put to use. It’s a little amazing how versatile one stockpot can be, and eliminate the need for 10 other pots and pans.

Now I am undertaking the task of downsizing my kitchen, without sacrificing so much that it becomes inconvenient to make a meal. Stay tuned for updates!

My friend Leah is coming by to see the new apartment on Thursday, so I’ve set that as a deadline for myself to finish unpacking. I’m almost there! Just a few more boxes stand between me and well-organized bliss.

We also have friends coming over for dinner on Friday, which will be my first prepared meal at the new apartment, unless you count the shells and cheese I made Monday night (which I don’t). Hopefully, it will give me a chance to explore what does and does not work with my current kitchen arrangement so I can make it into a functional space. I can see the counter tops now, so it’s a start!

So far, we have been fairly ambitious with unpacking and organizing the apartment. In past moves, it has taken me weeks if not months to fully unpack and decorate. At this rate, we will be near finished in just under one week.

I’m looking forward to ”breaking in” the new kitchen – wish me luck! 

Meanwhile, if you are looking for interesting food news and information, check out You’ve Got to Taste This, the blog run by MyRecipes.com (which I will also add to Cool Food Blogs).