Meal Prep Recipe: Herb Marinated Chicken, Candied Butternut Squash + Citrus-Seared Green Beans

 

Over the last 10 years, my culinary skills have monumentally evolved. I know what you're thinking: "Jenn, you were already a kitchen genius in 2011. There was no improvement needed."(Or something modest like that...)

Thank you. I appreciate all of your compliments. I assure you I'm a humble, giving soul.

The most frequent criticism of my cookbook recipes had nothing to do with the food creations - it was the process. Not everyone loves tinkering away in their kitchen laboratory like Dr. Einstein in Arsenic and Old Lace. No shocker that I was cast as Dr. Einstein in the stage play. My high school theater director had a great pulse on my creative process. I needed to learn how to keep it simple.

To sum this up, here's part of a 1 star review of my cookbook on Amazon named "Pass On This Book":

"1. Many of the recipe titles are unnecessarily long. They could have been easily shortened for readers' convenience.
2. There are often too many flavors in competition with one another.[...] A lot of time and money will be wasted on ingredients you can't even taste.
3. Many of the ingredients are expensive and/or difficult to find; vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, vegan feta, etc.
4. The author's narrative writing and jokes are weird, considering the context of a cookbook."

For the sake of "weird" storytelling, let's just call the reviewer "Brenda." You see, "Brenda," I have an excellent sense of humor. You're also not entirely wrong. My recipe titles could have been shorter. Vegan ingredients are expensive, and they were hard to find in 2011. I just happen to be a visionary. They're all easier to find in 2022. Yes, my jokes are "weird": that's why I was on a season of Reno 911! - I must have been the most unfunny person to walk through the doors. Does it have a place in my book? Yes, "Brenda." It's an extension of my "out of context" soul. I don't want to know what living "in context" means. I dare to be myself. 

This is, of course, a subjective opinion. I truly don't take "Brenda's" words personally. I am genuinely sorry that I didn't include any of "Brenda's" favorites...nor, apparently, the rest of the world's. My bad. 

To end on a more positive note, here's a few reviews from people who understood the assignment:

San Francisco Book Review, 4/12/11 

“A hip and sexy cookbook…With a preface to tell you, the wide-eyed health hopeful, how to stock your cupboards and what to look for at the grocery store, Veganize This! has every potential to turn non-believers into worshipers.”

VegNews,12/20/10

“What can we say? We like a book with moxie.” 

Technorati.com, 2/12/11 

“Cooking animal-free is not always as easy as the alternative, and sometimes a lot more expensive. However, Veganize This! provides nice variety to those who have made a commitment to ‘go vegan.'” 

I promise you I truly am a humble, giving and empathetic human. (She says, as she turns to her wife's RBF* for approval...)

Well, all the "Brendas" are in luck: In 2016, I was dragged away from CA. All of the fancy, expensive grocery stores were 2+ hours away and I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. Being forced to move to Virginia ended up being the best thing that's happened to my professional life. I also met my incredible wife -  the aforementioned RBF. Thank fuck for that. I don't want to imagine a world without her.

In my first two months here, happenstance led me to opening a restaurant for a Meal Prep company that would serve jazzed-up variations of their cold-packaged meals. Flash forward 2 years, I end up owning said Meal Prep company. The restaurant was so damn buys: I quickly adapted to create simple dishes that could fly out of the kitchen at light-speed. It was impossible and unsustainable to keep both the sit-down restaurant and Meal Prep business open simultaneously. Our kitchen was being used 24/7, and I was severely exhausted. 

I'd developed a true passion for helping people have healthy, exciting meals that required no effort except heating and eating. I kept the Meal Prep company open, crying tears of joy when the restaurant was able to close its doors. 

This is the first of countless Meal Prep recipes you'll see posted here. Since I love seasonal ingredients, this bowl is called the "Fall in Yo' Face Bowl." I hope it's simple enough for the Brendas. 

As always, my Chef's Tips are in every recipe, providing you with life hacks that simplify them even further. For example, I'll be posting a DIY variation of my old Vegan Chicken recipe - just remember: It's 2022, and you can buy affordable Vegan Chicken Breasts nearly everywhere. 

You can make these recipes separately, Meal Prep for the week ahead, substitute steamed green beans - whatever makes your life easier. You can use this simple, delicious chicken 10,000 different ways. I was going to post my Cranberry BBQ Sauce because it's in the main photo, but I like being a tease. I'll save that for closer to Thanksgiving. 

Let's start off with the Green Beans. I use Haricot Vert because that's how I roll...

*RBF = Resting Bitch Face

Meyer Lemon, Blood Orange (Citrus) + Hazelnut Oil-Seared Haricot Vert

Ingredients:

• 2lbs Haricot Vert, trimmed and rinsed (or sub whole Green Beans)

• 2 TBSP Hazelnut Oil* (sub 2 additional TBSP Olive Oil)

• 1 TBSP Olive Oil

• 4 large Shallots, thinly sliced

• 1 ½ TBSP Honey

• 1 tsp Meyer Lemon Zest

• ½ tsp Blood Orange Zest

• Juice of 1 fresh Meyer Lemon**

• Juice of ½  fresh Blood Orange**

• 1 tsp Fresh Dill, finely minced (optional)

• 1 tsp Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, finely minced and a pinch reserved for garnish

• Coarse Sea Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper, to taste

*Chef’s Note 1: Hazelnut Oil has an extremely high smoke point. Olive oil has a much lower smoke point. If you’re using just olive oil, adjust the sauté heat to Medium, not Medium-High. If available, Macadamia Oil or Rice Bran Oil will work really well. They’re both some of my favorites for high-heat cooking and flavor. 

**Chef’s Note 2: If Meyer Lemons or Blood Oranges aren't available, that’s okay! Don't be a "Brenda." You can substitute ¾  tsp Lemon Zest + ¾  tsp Orange Zest, and ½ TBSP Lemon Juice + ½ TBSP Orange Juice in place of the Meyer Lemon zest and juice. Any citrus you like will work.

Directions:

First, we are going to blanch and shock the fresh Haricot Vert. If that sounds like gibberish to you, I’ve got your back. “Blanch” and “shock” are badass, fancy chef-talk for the following:

Before jumping into the definition, prepare an Ice Bath. I use either a very large mixing bowl or large stock pot to make mine at home. Fill the bowl or pot about ½ way full with ice cubes, then pour in cold water until the ice is covered and has room to move around. If you do this step first, the ice will melt a little, allowing the Haricot Vert to have a little room to move around. If you accidentally form one giant ice cube, make sure to stir in some warm water until it breaks up. Set aside until you’re ready for The Shocker step.

Blanch: Fill 75% of a large stock pot with water and salt (about ½ tsp) to a rolling boil. My best advice is to use a pasta pot that has a built-in strainer pot for a smooth, pain-free process. If not, have a colander ready in a clean sink.

 

Submerge (aka dump)  the Haricot Vert into the boiling water and let them cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes. You want them to be vibrant green and crisp. They should snap in half with a little force, not limp. If you’re using regular fresh green beans, blanch for 5-7 minutes. They should look this sexy...

As soon as the beans are bright green and crisp, remove them from the boiling water and immediately drain or pour into your strainer. Is your sink clean? I hope so, ya filthy animal.

Time for…

The Shocker: As soon as your Haricot Vert are out of the water, plunge them into the Ice Bath. This halts the cooking process so they can be seared while remaining crisp and fresh. In the event that you don’t have a BBQ-cooler’s worth of ice cubes, a large bowl/pot of very cold water will do the same job. 

Stir the Haricot Vert in the Ice Bath/cold water to ensure there are no “hot spots”, and they are all uniformly cooled. Once cooled, drain very well and pat them dry.

Let’s move on with our lives while the beans dry.

Make sure all of your other ingredients are portioned out (aka Mise en Place) and ready to go. Here's a photo of my Mine en Place that just looks dope:

Grab a large sauté pan, and place it over medium-high heat. As the pan is almost heated, add the Macadamia Oil. Once it’s sizzling, add the Olive Oil, let it heat for about 30 seconds, then add the sliced Shallots to the pan. Sauté the Shallots for 4-5 minutes until golden brown, then grab your Haricot Vert.

Add the Haricot Vert, Honey, Meyer Lemon Zest and Meyer Lemon Juice, and toss quickly with tongs if you can’t do a fancy pan-flip safely to combine well. Add in the Dill, Parsley, and a little salt and freshly cracked pepper, and toss well again. 

Taste for salt and pepper, place on a serving platter, garnish with the remaining pinch of Parsley. Serve immediately. Remind everyone at the table as they take their first bite that you gave these beans The Shocker so they know they were made with love. Voila!

Let's move on.

Seasonal Herb Marinated Chicken

Chef's Note: The Veganized version of this recipe is built right in. Substitute Vegan Chicken Breasts in place of regular. You don't even need to leave your home - check out GTFOItsVegan.com for every vegan substitute imaginable. Also, swap the Honey for Agave Nectar. The rest is already vegan. If you really want to make your own Vegan chicken, you can buy a digital copy of my cookbook or find a pirated version.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs whole Organic Chicken Breasts (sub Vegan Chicken Breasts* for Vegan variation)

• 1 cups Greek Olive Oil (Please use Greek Olive Oil. If you don't, pretend you did so the wife doesn't hunt you down and explain why Greek Olive Oil is truly better. )

• 1 cups Lemon Juice

• 10 cloves peeled Fresh Garlic, finely minced (save time and use a food processor)

• 6-8 sprigs Fresh Thyme 

• 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary

• 1 TBSP Kosher Salt

• ½ tsp Coarse Grind Plack Pepper 

• 1 TBSP Honey (or Agave Nectar)

• 2 tsp Light Brown Sugar (Optional, but recommended) 

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except the chicken, thyme and rosemary. You may need to gently warm the honey so it incorporates well with the other marinade ingredients.

Place the chicken, thyme and rosemary in a large bowl with fitted lid, plastic container with fitted lid or gallon freezer bag that seals up well. You get the point. You don't want to marinate your refrigerator.

Place the marinating chicken (or Vegan chicken) into the fridge. I like to let mine marinate overnight, but 1-2 hours will do just fine.

You can cook the chicken several ways.

Grilling*: Lube up your grill grates with oil and preheat it to 375°F (191°C). Once preheated, place each chicken breast at a 45° angle on the grates to form an X pattern. Depending on the size of your chicken breast, they can take between 6-10 minutes per side. 

Close the lid to your grill. After they've grilled for 3-4 minutes, don't flip the chicken breasts yet. Using tongs, turn each breast another 45° to finish the X pattern on one side. Close the grill again and let cook another 3-4 minutes. 

Flip the chicken breasts over, repeating the step above to make the perfect X (cross-hatches). Make sure you take the internal temperature of the thickest part of each chicken breast from two angles to ensure that it's at least 165°F (74°C).

Let rest for 5 minutes gently covered before serving.

You can alternatively pan-sear them in a cast iron pan and then finish them off in your oven, bake them, slow braise them - however you'd like. Just make sure they're cooked completely. Google is your best friend for discovering every way to cook chicken.

*If making the Vegan variation, you do not need to cook the Vegan Chicken breasts for that long on each side. You can still make pretty cross-hatches. They only need about 3-4 minutes per side.

Candied Butternut Squash

Look at that beautiful Cranberry BBQ Sauce? Bet you can't wait for that post.

Ingredients:

• 1 2-3lb Butternut Squash (or pre-cleaned and packaged cut Butternut Squash)
• 3 TBSP Greek Olive Oil (see the Green Bean ingredients if you didn't read it...)
• 3 TBSP melted Unsalted Butter or melted Vegan Butter - I recommend Miyokos or Livlo
• 2 TBSP Brown Sugar
• 1/2 tsp of Kosher Salt
• Pinch of Black Pepper
• Freshly Grated Nutmeg, to taste
• A sprig of Fresh Rosemary (Optional)
• Nonstick Cooking Spray, preferably Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). You can also use an air fryer, but keep an eye on it while cooking. Those fuckers cook fast AF.

Carefully cut off the top stem and about 1 inch of the bottom of butternut squash so it will stand flat on a cutting board. Remove the rough skin with a carrot peeler.

Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard all of the seeds and pulp.

Cube the butternut squash into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces, and place them in a large mixing bowl.

Place the rest of the ingredients into the bowl with the butternut squash, and toss well to combine. Feel free to add more melted butter or oil if desired.

Line a sheet pan with foil, and spray the foil well with the nonstick cooking spray. Place the well-coated/seasoned butternut squash on the sheet pan, and spread it out to form one even layer.

Spray the butternut squash all over with the nonstick spray, and place the pan in the oven.

Depending on the strength of your oven and your elevation, cooking times will vary. Using tongs or a rubber spatula, toss the butternut squash every 5ish minutes so it caramelizes on all sides. To get a nice candied taste, I let mine go for about 30-45 minutes. Once it's really tender and browned on all sides (not charred, but getting there), it's done.

Allow it to cool a little before serving immediately...unless you want to burn the mouths of your enemies.