Take Me Back to Jamaica - Jerk Chicken and Shrimp

Jerk Pork Chop Dinner

Only a few short months ago, I had the honor of watching two dear friends commit their lives to one another in the beautiful city of Negril, Jamaica.  Everything I went through to ensure I could keep my commitment and witness this once in a lifetime event was out of this world and enough for a completely different blog post that I'll have to share soon, but it made my time there even more special.  I will always remember the inviting hospitality, the welcoming atmosphere, the great company of old and new friends alike, the beautiful beaches and of course the delicious jerk seasoning they had on several of the dishes I tried.

My crew

When I first decided to make jerk 'something' I was in search of something I could make that would be tasty enough for me and exciting enough that my teenage son wouldn't get bored with the leftovers.  I remembered a Jerk Catfish recipe from a Cooking Light magazine I did a few years back and luckily I still had the seasoning.  Have you ever found yourself trying out new recipe that calls for a whole bunch of seasonings you don't actually carry in your kitchen?  You go out an buy it and then never really use it again!  I got so fed up with my overflowing non-existent spice cupboard that when I moved out of that house I took a spice purchasing sabbatical.  I was only allowed to buy common spices when I ran out.

Selfie time!

I digress, so back to my dilemma with the Jerk Catfish seasoning...When I checked the ingredients of the seasoning blend, I saw the first item listed was SUGAR!  "Nooooo!," I thought.  This would not do for my 21 Day Fix Extreme eating, so I searched online for a sugar free version.  I settled with this recipe:  http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014722-no-fuss-jerk-chicken, and it did not disappoint.  Even though I did not have all the ingredients, I had enough to make it work.  I actually doubled the recipe so I could use it with the shrimp and chicken I had.  I will list a single batch recipe as I made it, but check out the link for the true recipe as I'm sure I will go through the effort to get some of the real stuff next time, if they make sense.

Jerk Chicken (or Shrimp, or whatever you choose!)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons ground Allspice
• 1 Tablespoon dried Thyme

  

  Mixed seasonings

• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Jalapenos (the spice factor for jalapenos is very low compared to the habanero chiles.  I wanted to be sure my son would eat this first time around)
• 6 scallions, roughly chopped
• 1 Tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger thickly sliced
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• Juice of 2 large limes
• 1 1/2 pounds of boneless chicken tenders, shrimp or whatever you choose

Marinating...

Directions:

Broiled Jerk Shrimp

1. Combine allspice, thyme, garlic, jalapenos (or chiles), scallions, peppercorns, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and lime juice in a blender or food processor and grind to a rough paste.
2. Put meat in a baking dish or plastic Ziploc bag.  Add seasoning paste and coat well.
3. Cover dish or seal bag tightly and marinate, refrigerated, for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight.
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees for chicken or turn on broiler for shrimp.
5. Bring meat to room temperature.
6. Bake/Broil uncovered until well browned and juices run clear when probed with a paring knife - about 20-25 minutes for chicken tenders and 10 minutes for shrimp, turning halfway.

Meal packaged for RJ

Servings: Use your red container to measure your protein, but I found that 1 Red container = 1 1/2 - 2 tenders or 10 shrimp.  This was easy to add with the veggies I roasted during the week or I added them to a spinach salad and sometimes paired with a sweet potato.


Enjoy Mon!

1. 

Fish n' Fries

Who eats fish and fries a.k.a fish n' chips while they're watching what they eat?

Me! Me! Me!  Especially if the fish is broiled and the fries are made from carrots.  Not only is this meal much healthier than the fried version, it is also much quicker to prepare and much quicker to clean up.

So tell me... are you a "Fish n' Fry" person or a "Fish n' Chip" person?  If you're a 'fish n' chipper', you can easily switch out the carrot sticks for carrot coins.

I hope this recipe saves your dinner by letting it be known that you can have fish n' fries (or fish n' chips) when eating healthy, regardless of what you like to call them.

Fish n' Fries

Ingredients:

• 2 baking sheets lined with foil
• 1 1/2 pounds catfish nuggets
• 1 pound carrot sticks (~3 C)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Combine chili powder, garlic powder, cumin and salt in a small bowl
3. Place carrot stick in a bowl and toss with the olive oil and 1/3 (~1 Tablespoon) of the seasoning mix.
4. Place carrot mixture on 1st baking sheet
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until carrot stick are tender and start to crisp
6. While the carrot sticks are baking, toss the catfish nuggets with the remaining seasoning.  Mix well.
7. Add fish mixture to the 2nd baking sheet.
8. When carrot sticks are finished, turn on the oven broiler.
9. Place fish in broiler for 10 minutes, turning at minute 6.

Servings: 4 - 1 Red & 1 Green  

Perfectly Tempting Pork Tenderloin

I just have to say before I share this recipe, that if you love food (OK, who doesn't?), but don't enjoy cooking or cleaning up, you MUST get a Ninja!  Not only can slow cook, bake, roast and more with it.  But it comes with an awesome recipe booklet which was the start of this recipe.  OK, now that I've given the appropriate shout out to my favorite kitchen tool,  I will share my recipe based off their "Herb-Roasted Pork Tenderloins & Potatoes" recipe.

Perfectly Tempting Pork Tenderloin

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, cut in quarters (or eighths)
• 1 large onion, cut into wedges
• 1 1/2 - 2 pounds baby carrots
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons smoked chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoons Himalayan sea salt
• 1 large pork tenderloin (about 3 pounds)
• 1 1/2 C chicken broth

Directions:

1. Combine chili and garlic powders, cumin and salt.
2. Cut potatoes, onion and carrots and combine in a large bowl.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of seasoning mixture.  Toss to coat.  (If you are not using a Ninja, go ahead and toss in a roasting pan.)
3. Rub the pork with the remaining Tablespoon of olive oil and the remaining seasoning.
4. Place the tenderloin in your Ninja pot and cook for about 10 minutes on the STOVETOP setting.  (If you do not a Ninja, you can do this in a skillet.)  Cook until it's browned on all sides, then remove from the pot.
5. Pour the chicken broth into the pot.  Add in the potatoes, carrots and onion mix.
6. Set the roasting rack on top and add the browned tenderloin onto the rack.
7. Cover and cook at 375, checking after the first 20 minutes or so.
8. Make sure pork is cooked through.

Final Meals Prepped for the week!

Servings: Depending on the time of day, grab 1 Yellow of potatoes with 1 Green of carrots (about 8-10 depending on the size) and 1 Red of tenderloin (about 2 slices depending on the thickness).  I had about 8 servings if eating this way, but I like to use the tenderloin for sandwiches and wraps too!


Alternatives: Use any of the 21 Day Fix Seasonings to season this recipe.

Ninja-Slow Cooker Pumpkin Coconut Chicken Curry - Fix Approved

It's funny sometimes how I come up with recipe ideas.  This one was actually quite simple.  I had some canned coconut milk from another recipe that I wanted to use up.  I also had some canned pumpkin from a completely separate recipe that I wanted to use up. I figured coconut and pumpkin would go well together and BAM!  I searched online, found a recipe and made it work for the 21 Day Fix.

The base for this recipe came from: http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/slow-cooker-pumpkin-coconut-curry/.  I used my Ninja, so I could only clean one dish because I do not enjoy dishes one bit!  Plus, for some reason, I do not prefer meat cooked in a slow cooker.  It must be cooked ahead of time and added to it.  Don't ask how I can tell, but I guess my taste buds are pretty picky.

This recipe was actually quite easy, but finding some of the spices were a bit tricky.  I ended up finding everything at Sprouts Farmer's Market.  I'm sure Whole Foods will carry them too, especially if there is not an Indian grocery in your area. 

Fix Approved Ninja-Slow Cooker Pumpkin Coconut Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

• 2 blue containers of coconut milk (you can opt to do 4, but I never like to use up all of my blue unless I'm making pizza)
• 1 C pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 C chicken stock/broth
• 1/2 Tablespoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric powder
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1/4 teaspoon pink himalayan sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 4 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 C 1-inch cubed sweet potatoes
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Juice of 1 lime

Directions:

1. Cook chicken over medium heat until lightly browned.  (Transfer to slow cooker, if not using a Ninja)  
   
2. Add coconut milk, pumpkin puree, chicken stock, curry powder, tumeric powder, garam masala, salt, and pepper.  Whisk together to make sure its all combined and spices are evenly distibuted.
3. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, sweet potatoes and lime juice to the mixture and stir.
4. Cook on low for 6 hours.
5. Serve over rice, quinoa (or cauliflower rice as I have shown, to add another green, over another yellow)

Servings: About 1 1/4 C is 1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green and 1/2 Blue.  When served with cauliflower rice you add 1 more Green.

Enjoy!

Mustard-Glazed Cod

Mustard Glazed Cod Dinner

Eating healthy doesn't mean boring!  Eating is an experience to be enjoyed.  This quick and easy cod dish is a great start to experiencing a healthy dinner.

I got this recipe from the TeamBeachbody Meal Planner that is available at the Club Membership level.  I then modified it to fit the 21 Day Fix portions.  This recipe was so easy and delicious that it will make it back in my meal prep rotation soon.

Mustard Glazed Cod

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 3

Raw cod fillets

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs cod, raw
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon basil, dried

Directions:

Glazed cod before cooking

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Rinse fish and pat it dry with a paper towel.
3. Lightly coat a shallow baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
4. Place fish in prepared pan, tucking under any thin edges.
5. Combine olive oil with lemon juice, mustard and basil.
6. Pour sauce over fish, and bake for 4 to 6 minutes per 1/2 inch thickness of fish or until fish flakes easily with fork.



Cooked, flaky cod

7. When ready to serve, place fish on serving plate and spoon sauce over top.

Servings: 1/3 fish is 1 Red and 1 teaspoon.

I enjoyed this dish with 1 Green of sauteed asparagus and 1 Green of Zoodles (zucchinni noodles).  Total meal was 1 Red, 2 Green and 2 teaspoons.


To get your own copy of the 21 Day Fix and join an upcoming group, go to: 21 Day FIx Deal