1 Recipe, 2 Ways...Again

here's a photo of the salmon with the pistachio-goat cheese topping used in the crostini recipe from yesterday---but see the brown rice on the plate burried under the salsa? i put the left-over rutabaga-orange salsa from the recipe below on top of the brown rice and added some chopped green olives. this was a super easy way to use the salsa left-overs while also elevating brown rice from ho-hum to yum! (the salsa was left-over from the dinner on Sunday night) Oh! and I did season the brown rice with a bit of salt and extra virgin olive oil. If you need to flavor things down for the kids, you can just serve plain brown rice with a bit of shaved Parmesan and shaved almonds on top (my son loves this combo!) or, you could always make the salsa a bit sweeter by adding more marmalade. Most kids will eat anything sweet!


Spicy Blackened Chicken with Rutabaga-Orange Salsa

Salsa:
1 cup frozen rutabaga, thawed and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
3 tablespoons all-natural orange marmalade (avoid those made with high fructose corn syrup)
2 oranges, finely chopped
Salt, to taste

1.Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive dish. Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate until serving time.

Chicken:
1 tablespoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1.In a large zip top bag add paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, ground cloves, cumin, oregano and salt. Shake bag to combine ingredients thoroughly.

2.Toss chicken in 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Add chicken to the bag with the spice mixture, zip the bag and toss shrimp to coat. Remove chicken from bag.

3.Heat the remaining tablespoon of the extra virgin olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned c and cook for about 4 minutes each side, or until done. Serve warm or at room temperature with salsa.