Thai Chicken Soup

SOUP INGREDIENTS:

• 2 (14 oz.) cans lite coconut milk
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 (4 oz) jar red curry paste OR 1 cup Trader Joe’s Thai Red Curry Sauce
• 5 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 pound shredded or sliced grilled chicken breast (or raw chicken placed in soup and shredded later; allow for enough tie to cook thoroughly)
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup diagonally sliced carrots
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup sliced or diced mushrooms
• Salt as necessary

GARNISH:

• lime juice
• chopped cilantro

*Delicious served or rice or rice noodles

DIRECTIONS:

1. Whisk together coconut milk, broth, peanut butter, curry paste/sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic and red pepper flakes in crockpot
2. Add in chicken, onion, carrots, peppers and mushrooms
3. Stir to combine
4. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours
5. Remove chicken and shred if you went the whole breast route, and then stir back in
6. Taste test and add additional salt, curry and red pepper as needed.
7. Serve as soup, over rice/ noodles and garnish with cilantro, peanuts and lime juice.
8. This soup can be quite brothy so thicken to desired thickness with corn starch.

Tandoori Chicken Bites

Ingredients:
 3 large chicken breasts
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 Tbsp garam masala
1 1/2 Tbsp paprika, divided

Directions:
Cut the chicken breasts into small chunks, yielding about 40 pieces. Place the chicken pieces in a large zip top bag.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the bag with 1/2 Tbsp paprika.  Close the bag tightly and smoosh it around to mix the ingredients.  Place the bag in the refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours to marinate.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray.  wipe the marinade from the chicken pieces and place them in a bowl.  sprinkle the last tablespoon of paprika and a pinch more of salt over the chicken pieces.  Toss to coat.  *The extra paprika here just helps the red color, you an skip it if desired.  A little extra salt definitely helps, though.

Place the chicken pieces on the prepared baking sheet, spaced out so they don't touch.  Bake for 15 minutes in the fully preheated oven.  Take the sheet out, turn each piece of chicken over, and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  Serve warm with Naan bread, yogurt sauce, and cucumbers.

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

YIELD: Serves 4-5
INGREDIENTS:

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1/3 cup water

1/2 tablespoon (or more) sesame seeds

3 scallions, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Place chicken in Crock Pot and lightly season both sides with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, combine onion, garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oil and red pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or high for 2 hours.

Remove chicken to a cutting board, leaving sauce. Cut/shred chicken into bite-sized pieces; set aside. Prepare rice according to package instructions.

In a small bowl, dissolve 4 teaspoons cornstarch in 1/3 cup water; add to crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Cover and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes, or until slightly thickened.

Add cooked rice to 4 plates, top with chicken and spoon sauce over top. Sprinkle evenly with sesame seeds and chopped scallions.

Mango Chicken Tacos

Ingredients:

4-5 chicken breasts

packet of taco seasoning

Mango Salsa from Costco

can of black beans

canned corn (I omit or add frozen)

 tortillas

sour cream

guacamole

Put chicken breast at bottom of crock pot. Sprinkle a packet of taco seasoning on top. Pour in an entire container of peach mango salsa from Costco and add a can of black beans (drained). Cook on slow for 4-6 hours. Shred chicken, return to crockpot and add a can of corn (drained). Cook for 30 minutes. Serve on tortillas with cheese and sour cream or guacamole.

Thai Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

I can't believe I haven't posted this yet!  Don't let the name fool you. This is a meal in a bowl. Use your favorite thai curry paste, to taste.  Serves 4 (as a meal).

INGREDIENTS

Two 398 ml (14 ounce) cans of full-fat coconut milk, unshaken (*if you're looking to reduce some of the fat in this soup, you can substitute 1 can of lite coconut milk, but make sure at least one of the two cans is full fat)


1 generous Tbsp. Thai curry paste (red, yellow or green, I have only used red)


2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces


3 cups chicken broth 


1 carrot, cut into matchsticks about 2 inches long


2 Tbsp. fish sauce


Zest and juice of 1 lime


1 tsp. minced fresh ginger


2 cups bean sprouts


2 cups bok choy, trimmed of white root ends (could also use spinach or other greens)


1/2 lb. (225g) wide rice noodles (don't substitute egg noodles or pasta unless pre-cooked sparately)


Fresh cilantro, about 1/3-1/2 cup, roughly chopped


2 or 3 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish


Shredded carrot, for garnish

METHOD

Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat. Remove the top layer of coconut cream from one can of coconut milk and add to the pot. Once it's melted, stir in the curry paste and heat until mixture starts to bubble. Add the chicken and cook, stirring until the chicken is cooked, 4-5 minutes.

Add the remaining coconut milk (the remainder of the first can and the whole second can). Add the chicken broth, carrot, fish sauce, ginger and lime juice and zest. Stir and bring to a low boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 15-20 minutes.

Add the rice noodles, ensuring that they are completely covered by the soup. Add the bean sprouts, bok choy. Stir gently to combine. Turn off the heat under the pot, cover and let stand 5 minutes. The rice noodles will re-hydrate in the hot soup (but this won't work with egg/pasta noodles, which is why they aren't recommended. If you need to use egg noodles, you'll have to cook them separately and add them to the soup at the end.)

Stir in some cilantro. Taste and season with a touch more salt, if needed. Serve in large bowls and garnish with the green onions and a bit more cilantro leaves.

Prep time: 5 min 
Cook time: 25 min 
Total time: 30 min 
Yield: 4 servings

Marinated Greek Chicken Kabobs and Greek Rice Pilaf

Emily brought me this yummy main dish after I had Talmage and I promised I would post it for her.  It was sooooo good!  Enjoy!

Marinated Greek Chicken Kabobs

1 8oz container fat-free plain greek yogurt
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese with basil and sun-dried tomatoes
½ tsp lemon zest
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp crushed dried rosemary
1 pound chicken breasts- cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large red onion- cut into wedges
1 large green bell pepper- cut into wedges

In a large shallow baking dish, mix the yogurt, feta cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place the chicken in the dish, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate for 3 hours in the refrigerator. Thread the chicken, onion and peppers onto skewers and grill. Serve with greek rice pilaf.

Greek Rice Pilaf

• 1/4 lb butter
• 2 cups uncooked rice
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 5 cups hot chicken broth
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat butter in a heavy skillet. When it's hot, add the rice and, stirring constantly, saute on medium heat until transparent but not brown.
2. Add the lemon juice, chicken broth, and salt.
3. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and let pilaf stand uncovered for 5 minutes before serving.

Classic Meatloaf (with a twist)

I'm NOT a meatloaf person. I think the last time I ate meatloaf was in junior high. So ... I made meatloaf tonight and it was surprisingly good. This doesn't use ground beef or pork, although I read that you could definitely use whatever ground meat you prefer.

From The Naked Kitchen

1.5 C sweet onions, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, mashed
1 lb. ground chicken (or ground turkey)
3/4 C old fashioned oats
1 large egg
3/4 C ketchup (divided)
2 tsp worcestershire
1 tsp sea salt (I used 3/4 tsp table salt)
1/2 tsp pepper
2 TB ground flaxseed

Oven at 350º

Saute onions and garlic until onions are golden.

Combine onions/garlic, ground chicken, oats, egg, 1/2 C ketchup, worcestershire, flaxseed, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well.

Spray an 8x4 loaf pan. Press mixture into pan. Spread remaining ketchup on top (1/4 C).

Bake for 1 hour and let sit 5 minutes before serving.

* Dice/slice the onions however you want. If you like chunky make them bigger or longer slices. If you don't like chunky, slice them thin/small.
* I didn't have flaxseed, but want to try it next time.

Asian BBQ Chicken

Posted By sara (from Our Best Bites)

Note… I combined this with a recipe of coconut jasmine rice and Asian slaw. Delicious!

Asian BBQ Chicken
Adapted from Cooking Light

1/4 C packed brown sugar


1/4 C soy sauce


2 T lime juice (about 1 lime)
 (I did lemon/lime since I doubled it and only had one lime on hand

1/4 t cayenne pepper


1/4 t curry powder


3-4 garlic cloves, minced


1 t grated fresh ginger


8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used about 3 large chicken breasts)

Combine everything but the chicken in a small bowl. Whisk to dissolve brown sugar. Place marinade and chicken in a zip-lock bag. Pop that bag in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, or longer if you have it (even overnight)

Preheat a grill (or an indoor grill pan or broiler). Spray cooking surface with cooking spray and place chicken on it to cook. Cook for 5-10 minutes on each side depending on the thickness. (I broiled it in a baking dish.) Optional: garnish with sliced green onions

*Tip: When I make this I usually make 1 1/2 times the marinade (I doubled it). I reserve some of the marinade before adding the chicken and then use it in the last few minutes of grilling, or just brush it on after for extra flavor.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

I admit I have not tried this one, but a friend of mine just sent it to me and it sounds great! I hope to try it soon . . . .

4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breast cubed (I usually do 4)
2 tsp butter
8 slices red pepper
8 slices green pepper
1 medium onion chopped
4 large mushrooms sliced
1-2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
2 tsp cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp basil
1/8 tsp garlic powder
4 oz linguini cooked & drained
grated parmesan cheese

*The veggies amounts are really just guidelines...I usually chop 1 whole green, 1 whole red pepper, & 1/2 onion. I buy a container of sliced fresh mushrooms & use the whole thing.  It just depends on what you like!

Mix chicken w/ cajun seasoning & saute over medium heat w/ butter until cooked.  Add peppers, onion, & mushroom & cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  Reduce heat.  Add cream & seasonings (Add more cajun seasoning if you want it spicier).  Heat thoroughly.  Serve on linguini & top w/ cheese.

Jean's "I'd have a baby just to get some of this chicken noodle soup" Chicken Noodle Soup

This one is (obviously) from my good friend Jean. She notoriously makes it for mamas with new babies, but now that I have the recipe I've made it routinely this winter. DE.LISH! The beauty is that you can adjust to your taste (my notes below).

SOUP
Serves 6

8 C water
3 chicken breasts

Boil in chicken water until cooked through (approx. 15 min.). Then remove from water and set aside.

4 carrots, peeled & chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 chicken bullion cubes

Add the above to water and boil until tender.

Add noodles (recipe below) & cook/boil until done (approx. 10 min.).

Shred chicken and return to pot.

HOMEMADE EGG NOODLES (worth the effort!)
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
2 TB milk
flour

Combine egg, salt & milk in a bowl. Add flour (1/2 cup at a time) until the dough is no longer sticky. Generously flour counter and roll out dough. Cut into strips (pizza cutter is great for this!).
**Noodles double in size when they cook.


My variations:
1. I use heaping teaspoons of the seasonings.
2. If you don't have poultry seasoning, it's just a combo of: sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, black pepper & nutmeg.
3. I use chicken tenders because they cook faster & are easier to shred. But they're easier to overcook, too.
4. I eyeball the carrots & celery because I like lots of veggies in my soup. It's not an exact science.
5. It probably takes me about 1 1/4 cups flour for the noodles. And SERIOUSLY they are worth it! I just make them while the veggies are boiling. Also, I've experimented with different sizes of noodles. I like them a little fatter (1/2 inch) and maybe 2+ inches long.

Asian Lettuce Rolls

Ingredients:

*2 packages (3 oz. each) chicken-flavored ramen noodles

*2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken

*1 each: red and yellow bell peppers

*1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions with tops

*2 tablespoons reduced -sodium soy sauce

* 2 teaspoons Asian Seasoning Mix (by pc, but they suggest using oriental flavored ramen to substitute)
*2 teaspoons vegetable oil

*1 garlic clove, pressed (or me...1/8 tsp. garlic powder)
*1 1/2-inch piece peeled fresh ginger root, pressed (or me again...1/4 tsp ground ginger)
*1 medium cucumber, scored, seeded and thinly sliced
*2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into julienne strips
*1/4 cup chopped peanuts (optional)
*24 Boston lettuce leaves (couldn't find in store, substituted with green leaf lettuce)
*1 jar (11.5 oz.) sweet and sour sauce

Directions:

1. Cook the ramen noodles as directed ( break each block of noodles into quarters). Drain noodles and rinse under cold water.

2. Slice tops and bottoms off bell peppers; remove stems and chop tops and bottoms of bell peppers. Set center portions of bell peppers aside. Place noodles, chicken, chopped bell peppers and green onions in bowl.

3. In small bowl, combine soy sauce, seasoning mix, and oil. Add garlic and ginger. Pour over noodle mixture in large bowl; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate.

4. Slice reserved bell peppers into thin strips. Thinly slice cucumber. Cut carrots into julienne strips. To serve, spoon noodle salad into medium bowl; sprinkle with peanuts, if desires. Place bell peppers, cucumber, carrots and sweet and sour sauce into small bowls. To serve, top each lettuce leaf with noodle salad and vegetables. Drizzle with sweet and sour sauce and roll-up.

Yields 8 servings.

Spinach Salad with Dijon Dressing

This just may be my new favorite salad... and the dressing is amazingly easy and doesn't have any oil. Woot!

baby spinach
grilled chicken (mine was just seasoned with a little season salt and garlic powder, but you could get fancy with a marinade of some sort)
chopped green onion
sliced almonds (thought about toasting but got too lazy)
sliced avocado (the best part of any salad in my opinion)
chopped apples or grapes

dressing: (okay, so I don't really measure any of this... I just sort of add to taste)
1 Tbl dijon mustard
2 Tbl white wine vinegar
1 Tbl honey
dash salt/pepper

Whisk it up and pour over salad. You could chill the flavor out a bit by adding some olive or canola oil to it, but what's the point. The dressing is delicious without the oil, and you don't need to use as much of it. :)

baked creamy chicken taquitos

I made this recipe from Our Best Bites for dinner tonight ...

Delicious!  B-boy and I both thoroughly enjoyed. I'm putting this one in the repeat-offenders rotation, for sure.

We just ate them with fresh salsa and sour cream. I used neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese) and it worked fantastically. I'm also quite sure you could play around with the ingredients to your taste. Ours were a little spicy because we're spicy people. :)

To make the chicken, I just browned & poached a few (2?) breasts for shredding.

I used fajita-sized flour tortillas (because I think corn tortillas are nasty).

It made 12 taquitos, although you could certainly get away with adding less stuffing to create more than 12 (but I doubt more than 15-16).

Get to work on this one.

BBQ chicken sandwich + buttermilk slaw

easy. messy. tasty. man-pleasin'. and woman pleasin', too. brandon told me he loved me several times while eating this sandwich. he may have even yelped. (from cook's country)

4 chicken breasts (1.5 lbs)
salt & pepper
3 TB unsalted butter
3/4 C BBQ sauce
1/2 C plus 1 TB cider vinegar
1 TB hot sauce
1/2 C mayonnaise
1/2 C buttermilk
1 (16 oz) bag coleslaw mix
hamburger buns

melt butter in large skillet over med-high. salt & pepper chicken breasts and add to skillet. cook until lightly browned. stir in BBQ sauce, 1/2 C vinegar, and hot sauce. bring to boil. reduce heat to med-low and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through (flip halfway through). transfer chicken to a plate, tent with foil to keep warm simmer sauce until thickened.

whisk mayo, buttermilk, 1 TB vinegar in bowl. add coleslaw and mix to combine. season with s & p.

shred chicken and add back to skillet, toss with the sauce. serve on buns topped with coleslaw.

Mahogany Broiled Chicken with Smoky Lime Sweet Potatoes

Alright kids... get ready. This is a real winner. For. Real. Check out Food Network for the recipe.

Here's my two cents:

1) the sweet potatoes and chicken are delicious together, but would also be delicious apart (mashed sweet potatoes = YUM!), and for those of you who are unaware, sweet potato is pretty much top of the food chain when it comes to veggies... very, very good for you

2) the cilantro/garlic chimichurri sauce is VERY garlicy (and I love garlic), I would cut the garlic in half and use the food processor to finely chop the cilantro and garlic so it's more of a paste... but really, it's all good without this part of the recipe as well (one way to save a few steps)

Enjoy!

chicken & dumpling soup

from cook's country
perfect for a cold winter's night ... and makes enough for leftovers.

1 1/2 C flour
2/3 C water
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
salt & pepper
3 TB unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped fine
2-3 carrots, peeled & sliced thin
1 celery rib, sliced thin
8 C low-sodium chicken broth
1 rotisserie chicken, skin discarded, shredded into bite-sized pieces

whisk flour, water, eggs, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper in bowl; set aside.

melt butter in dutch over or stockpot (med-high heat). cook onion, carrots & celery until lightly browned. stir in broth and bring to boil. reduce heat to med-low and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender (10-15 min).

stir in chicken, season with salt & pepper. return to simmer. use spoon to drop small (1/2-1 tsp size) dollops of dough into soup. simmer, covered until dumplings are set (1-2 min).

** if you forget to slightly beat the eggs before you add them to the flour, it will still work.

spicy* chicken soup

* or not so spicy, if you are so inclined. From allrecipes.com.

4 C water
2.5 chicken bouillon cubes
4 chicken breasts
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 TB dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
2 TB chili powder
1/2 onion, chopped
1 1/2 garlic cloves, chopped
8 oz. chunky salsa
1 can peeled/diced tomatoes
1/2 condensed tomato soup
1 can black beans
1/2 can corn (or equiv. frozen)

Put everything in the crockpot/slow cooker except beans & corn. Cook on low for 8 hours. After 6 hours remove chicken & shred, add back to pot. Add beans and corn.

Serve with dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado and/or tortilla chips.

Adjust anything to your taste; this one's pretty fool proof! I've forgotten the corn & beans and it still tasted uber-good. You could also sub the water/bouillon for 4 cups chicken broth.

White Bean Chicken Chili

(From: Giada At Home - Giada de Laurentiis)

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 4 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 pounds ground chicken (I used leftover Thanksgiving turkey and it was delicious!)
* 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
* 2 tablespoons ground cumin
* 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
* 1 tablespoon dried oregano
* 2 teaspoons chili powder
* 3 tablespoons flour
* 2 (15-ounce cans) cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
* 1 bunch (about 1 pound) Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces (I left this out because certain members of my family wouldn't eat it if I added it, but I'm sure it'd be delicious... I was also thinking of using spinach, but it probably wouldn't hold up as well as the swiss chard)
* 11/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
* 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I added this to simmer, rather than garnishing with it at the end)

Directions

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the ground chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, fennel seeds, oregano, and chili powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Stir the flour into the chicken mixture. Add the beans, Swiss chard, corn, and chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 55-60 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chili has thickened. (The simmering is super important before you start adding more seasoning... you need to give the fennel seeds time to work their magic.) Add the red pepper flakes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the chili into serving bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Delicious!

Yellow Curry Chicken

A dear friend (and old roomie) of mine reads our recipe blog (see? we have fans! hi Mel!) and has a few of her own "tried and true" recipes she wanted to contribute. Here's the first one ...

2 lbs chicken, diced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1.5 TB vegetable oil
2 TB curry powder
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can coconut milk
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
3 TB sugar

Cook curry powder in oil for approx. 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic, cook until soft. Add raw diced chicken and cook thoroughly. Add coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce & sugar.

Cover and simmer 30-40 minutes.

* If the curry sauce isn't as thick as you'd like, prepare corn starch in cold water and stir into hot mixture.

teriyaki chicken pasta salad

This is from my friend Rebecca Mauss. I envision this would be a real winner at all sorts of showers, potlucks, etc. The recipe makes a lot and could be altered to your taste. It's delicious!

Dressing:
1 C vegetable oil
2/3 C Teriyaki sauce
2/3 C red wine vinegar
6 TB sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Blend dressing ingredients together right before pouring over pasta (otherwise it will just separate and you'll have to blend again anyway).

Salad:
16 oz farfalle (bowtie) pasta, cooked al dente
1-1/2 (10 oz) bags fresh spinach
3/4 C craisins (6 oz)
3 (11 oz) cans mandarin oranges, drained
2 (8 oz) cans sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 C parsley, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/3 C toasted sunflower seeds
3/4 C honey roasted peanuts (6 oz)
2 C cooked chicken, cut into small pieces

Mix dressing and cooked pasta in a medium bowl; marinate for at least 2 hours. Combine rest of ingredients in a large salad bowl, add pasta/dressing, toss to combine.

Notes: I didn't have all the spinach called for, and it was fine. The dressing was a little oily, and I don't know if the allotted amount of spinach would have helped that or not. I'm sure you could easily adjust to just 3/4 C oil.