Trying Something New: Pomegranate!

Finally, I'm back to some food posting!! Today's star is pomegranate, so fancy and new to our kitchen!

When we get busy, we tend to fall back on tried-and-true recipes, which, while good to eat, can get a little boring after a while. I also needed to start finding some more warm-weather friendly dishes, some less heavy and seasonally dependent food. I don't try that hard to be healthy in the summer, but I tend to gravitate towards all of the fresh produce that's just more available during the warmer months. It's probably all the bright colors that are attracting me, honestly. So, this IS a pretty healthy meal, but not on purpose. And I WILL be balancing it out with some gelato soon, preferably an affogato. Yum.

I found this salad on Half Baked Harvest, which is a go-to recipe website for our household... that woman does NOT skimp on flavor and that's something I can rely on. I highly recommend her website or even her new cookbook, which is coming out in September!

Anyway, if I'm going to eat something that seems healthy, I like her recipes because I know it won't be something bland, or made with overly expensive or difficult to find ingredients. This Lemon Garlic Roasted Broccoli Salad looked filling and delicious, and I only had to make sure baby kale made my shopping list because I had the rest on hand, minus avocados, since I made too much guacamole for my nephew's birthday party this weekend. Oops!! 

This is not mine. This is what I was TRYING to make. TRYING.

Of course, her salad looks so beautiful. Like, just SO GAWGEOUSSS. I wish. I just wish.

So, I tried it. Again, minus the avocado, but we also added some grilled chicken breast on the side- that's right, chicken as a side dish- and I think it nailed that same filling-protein fill to the meal. I think you could probably sub the kale for one of those spring mixes, too, if it's not available. Sometimes the commissary only has the salad mixes, not individual items like kale or spinach, in stock, so I did consider using another leave that would hold up well, like arugula.

I had to learn from YouTube how to open a pomegranate to obtain the arils (those delicious little bursts of red inside), because I've apparently never touched one myself and I had no clue. Luckily, someone posted a video and I went down an internet rabbit hole to find a tutorial that seemed to be #trending that shows how to cut off the top like a lid, slice the sides, then break it open so it looks like a star. So if you don't already have that down, definitely check that video out.

Other than the pomegranate, it was pretty easy to put everything together. The chicken cooked while the broccoli, pine nuts, and garlic mixture roasted for about 20 minutes at 425⁰ F and I also mixed the dressing together with the tossed kale and arils. Easy peasy!

The Perfectly Grilled Chicken Award 2017 goes to my husband; you the real MVP, boo. He said he seasoned it with Adobo, pepper, and smoked paprika, then smacked it in the grill pan, covering it with the lid for the last few minutes until cooked through. He's pretty much a meat expert 😂 And our finished product with the chicken was pretty good. It was definitely hearty enough without losing any flavor. The lemon and garlic stood out and the arils popped delightfully. I think we could have used even more feta, but I also just really love feta, so that could just be my greed. 

Well, I hope you try and enjoy this...if so, let me know how it went and if you tried anything revolutionary that I should know about!

-Big A.