My mom recently bought a cook book called “Super Simple” by Tieghan Gerard.
Between my Mom, her husband Jon, and myself, we have already made four things out of the book! That’s probably because, honestly, almost everything in the book is down right delicious!
Last night we made walnut crusted chicken with honey and brie, golden butternut squash soup, and everything bagel salad with white beans and pesto.
It all turned out wonderfully.
It was also pretty healthy. If you know me personally, you already know that healthy and low-fat are the top qualities I look for in a meal.
The Salad
The everything bagel salad is something I am going to be eating regularly.
My favorite part of the whole salad was the dressing, and its incredibly easy to prepare!
Salad with White Beans and Everything Bagel Croutons
Ingredients
Everything Bagel Croutons and Salad
- 1 everything bagel
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 10 oz baby arugula
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese Optional
- 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
White Bean and Pesto Salad Dressing
- 15 oz white cannellini beans
- 1 lemon juice
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp vinegar White vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Personally, I went with apple cider vinegar.
- 1/3 cup pesto
Instructions
Dressing
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.15 oz white cannellini beans, 1 lemon, 1 pinch kosher salt, 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1/3 cup pesto
Salad and Croutons
- Cut or rip the bagel into small pieces and toss it in a pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil until they are crispy1 everything bagel
- Combine your bean pesto mixture with the baby arugula and you’re ready to go10 oz baby arugula
- .Top your salad with Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper flakes if you desire.1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
Unfortunately, the Safeway by my house was out of arugula. I used mixed greens to make the salad this time, but in the future I would use arugula.
Butternut Squash Soup
Next, we made the butternut squash soup.
To be honest, the soup was a little bit more labor-intensive than I would have liked considering the name of this book is “Super Simple“. None the less, it turned out good and it felt pretty healthy.
Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 5 cup cubed butternut squash
- 1 chopped shallot
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped sage
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- 3 cup water
- 14 oz unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 dash pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
- In your Dutch oven (or stock pot), toss together the butternut squash, shallot, maple syrup, 2 tbsp olive oil, sage, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.5 cup cubed butternut squash, 1 chopped shallot, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp fresh chopped sage, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 pinch salt and pepper
- Roast for about 25 minutes, until the squash is softened
- Let the mixture cool down just a little bit. Then, transfer the squash into a blender, add the water and puree for 1-2 minutes until the soup is smooth.3 cup water
- Put the soup back in the pot and stir in the unsweetened coconut milk with the butter14 oz unsweetened coconut milk, 2 tbsp butter
- Simmer the soup over medium heat until it's nice and warm
- You can thin out the soup with water if you need to, and feel free to add pumpkin seeds as a delicious topping if you desire!1 dash pumpkin seeds
Walnut Crusted Chicken
Lastly, we made the walnut crusted chicken which was my favorite part of this whole dinner!
The brie on top of it really does something to me, if you know what I mean…
Lets cook it!
Walnut Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
Buttermilk Dredge
- 1 lb boneless chicken breast
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
Walnut Crust
- 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
- 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
- 1 tbsp freshly chopped thyme leaves
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Honey Sauce
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Garnish
- 6 oz brie
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and slightly oil a baking sheet
Buttermilk Dredge
- In a bowl, combine 1 pound of boneless chicken breast with half a cup of buttermilk and toss the chicken so it gets nice and coated with the liquid1/2 cup buttermilk
Walnut Crust
- In a separate bowl, mix together the walnuts, whole wheat flour, thyme, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts, 2 tbsp whole wheat flour, 1 tbsp freshly chopped thyme leaves, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 pinch salt and pepper
- Drag that chicken through the walnut mixture then place it on the baking sheet, then brush and drizzle the chicken with olive oil1 tbsp olive oil
- Bake for 15-20 minutes till its cooked through (an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit)
Honey Sauce Glaze
- Combine the honey and Dijon mustard in a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the sauce is warm (usually, about two minutes)1/2 cup honey, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Garnish
- Take the chicken out of the oven and use half of the honey sauce to drizzle over the chicken
- Top each piece of chicken with a wedge of brie and place it back into the oven until the brie is melted6 oz brie
- Serve the chicken with the remaining honey sauce, and enjoy!
So, to wrap it up, I’ll say this dinner was very fun to cook and it was yummy as heck! It works especially well when you have some one to cook with.
