Marinara Chicken

Marinara Chicken

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 8 chicken tenders
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 1 jar of marinara sauce (I used Trader Joe's)
• 4 slices of mozzarella cheese, each cut in half (total 8 pieces)

Directions:

• Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet.  Season the chicken tenders and cook for a couple minutes on each side until browned.  
• Add the marinara sauce and scrape up all the yummy brown bits in the skillet.
• Cover and simmer on medium-low for about 10 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
• Turn off the heat.  Top each chicken tender with a half slice of mozzarella.  Cover and let sit for 15 seconds until cheese is melted.
• Serve immediately.

Buckwheat Fruit Bake

My local Henry's Market used to carry buckwheat groats.  I know because I've bought it there, in the bulk bins.  But when I went this past weekend they were nowhere in sight.  After a chat with the store manager and the bulk manager, I find out they no longer carry it because there wasn't enough demand.  The only thing they carry now is pre-packaged buckwheat flour at $5.99 for a tiny package.  *grumble*  I looked at Sprouts, too, and they don't carry any buckwheat groats either.  I might need to head out to Whole Foods and see.

This recipe makes one single-serving bake, but is easily doubled or tripled, depending on how many you are serving.  Kath doesn't add sugar to the bake, but she does top it with jam once it's baked.  I added 1 tablespoon of sugar to the mix itself so it doesn't require any topping.  If you don't want to add the sugar, you could drizzle it with agave nectar or sugar-free fruit syrup (to be completely SBD-legal) after it's baked.

Kath had this for breakfast, but it makes a damn good dessert, too.

Buckwheat Fruit Bake
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar (or Splenda if you want to be 100% SBD-legal)
• 1/2 mashed ripe banana
• 1/4 cup nonfat milk
• 1/4 cup frozen fruit (I used blueberries tonight)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup Egg Beaters

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly spray an individual-sized baking dish with cooking spray.  Set aside.
• Mix together the flour, chia seeds, cinnamon, baking powder and sugar (the dry).
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the banana, milk, frozen fruit, vanilla, and Egg Beaters (the wet).  You can put the frozen fruit straight in, no need to thaw it first.
• Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just incorporated (do not over-mix).
• Pour into the prepared dish.  These don't rise much, so fill to the top.
• Bake for 30 minutes.

Chicken Saltimbocca

This is sooooooo yummy.  I used chicken tenders tonight instead of breasts because that's what I happened to have.  And because they're tenders and rather thin, I just butterflied them and didn't bother with pounding them.  I also used shiitakes instead of oyster mushrooms because that's what I had available.  I'm guessing this would be good with just about any type of "wild" mushroom.

And just so you know, the toddler gobbled it up.

Chicken Saltimbocca
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 8 chicken tenders, butterflied
• 8 large sage leaves
• 8 small slices of prosciutto
• whole wheat flour
• salt and freshly-ground pepper
• olive oil
• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1.5 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons Smart Balance

Directions:

• Open up each tender and place a sage leaf and a slice of prosciutto in each.  Fold the tenders back over.
• Dredge each stuffed tender in whole wheat flour seasoned with salt and pepper.
• In a large skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  Add chicken and cook until nice and brown on each side.  Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.
• Add shallots and mushrooms to skillet and stir, scraping up the browned chicken bits.  Cook for several minutes until both the shallots and mushrooms are soft.
• Add chicken broth and the cooked chicken back to the skillet.  Cook over high heat until reduced by half.
• Stir in Smart Balance and serve immediately.

Easy Slow Cooker Brisket

Easy Slow Cooker Brisket

Ingredients:

• a 2-pound beef brisket, all visible fat removed
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

• Liberally season both sides of the brisket with TSSS and TSGG.
• Place in the bottom of a crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours.
• 1/2 hour before the brisket is done, add several generous dashes of Worcestershire sauce to the meat, flip it over, and add a few more dashes.
• Once brisket is done, remove it to a cutting board and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting.  Slice against the grain.
• Scoop up any leftover juices in the crockpot and spoon over the sliced meat.

Tri-Tip Sauteed with Tomatoes and Mushrooms

When I was growing up, my mom would, every so often, take very thinly-sliced steak, sauté it up with tomatoes, and serve it over a bed of watercress. It was delicious, especially with the crisp bite of the watercress.

I used to love watercress. Until last week, when I found a disgusting critter in the bunch that I had bought. Not a jumping or crawling critter, those I can handle. This bunch had a long, thin, wriggling, sucking, leeching critter about an inch long; it had suctioned itself to the side of my salad spinner and was squirming in the water. I kid you not. I threw everything right out and am never eating watercress again. (I also immediately ran the salad spinner in the dishwasher to sanitize it.)

Anyway... sorry for that unappetizing detour. I just had to get that off my chest. The rest of this post is in much better taste. I promise.

I love this dish when the steak is very thinly sliced.  But I'm not as skilled with a knife (nor am I as diligent) as my mom is, so don't sweat it if you can't get the steak paper-thin.  I just try to do the best I can.  And if I'm lazy pressed for time, a finished meal is more important than having perfectly-sliced meat.

Tonight I used tri-tip, but you can use any tender cut of beef like rib eye, sirloin, tenderloin, etc. 

Tri-Tip Sautéed with Tomatoes and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 2 large handfuls of shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and thickly sliced
• 3 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 pound tri-tip, all visible fat removed, thinly sliced
• fish sauce

Directions:

• Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan.  Add the shiitakes and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until they start to get soft and begin to brown.
• Add the tomatoes and sauté for a few more minutes until both the mushrooms and tomatoes are soft.
• Move the veggies to one side of the pan.  Add the garlic and sliced tri-tip to the empty side of the pan and stir for about 30 seconds.
• Toss the veggies and meat together.  Season with a few generous dashes of fish sauce.
• Stir for another minute or so until the meat is no longer red/pink.  Make sure not to over-cook.
• Serve over a green salad or brown rice.

Chicken Paprikash

Chicken Paprikash
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken tenders or boneless, skinless breasts
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• a couple tablespoons sweet paprika
• freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• a couple large dollops of fat-free plain yogurt

Directions:

• Season chicken tenders with TSSS.
• Heat a couple tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan.  Cook chicken tenders for a couple minutes on each side to develop a nice brown sear.  Remove to a plate and set aside.
• Add sliced onions to the pan and cook them on medium heat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Make sure to scrape up all the yummy browned chicken bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Add paprika and black pepper.  Stir.
• Add the chicken broth and stir to combine, scraping up any more brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Return the chicken tenders to the pan and nestle them on top of the sautéed onions.
• Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.  Turn the chicken once while simmering to make sure it's well-coated.
• Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.
• Add yogurt to the sauce and stir to combine.  Add more TSSS and pepper to taste.  Return the chicken to the pan and toss to coat.
• Serve immediately.

I used fat-free plain regular yogurt this time, and it was good, but I think next time I will try fat-free plain Greek yogurt to make it a little thicker.  YUM.

Chicken with Grape-Shallot Sauce

OMG YUM!  A little sweet, a little savory, and a whole lotta delicious!  Using chicken tenders was perfect for this, it cuts down on prep time, and it was nice and tender.

Chicken with Grape-Shallot Sauce
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• whole wheat flour
• 1 pound chicken tenders
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• freshly-ground black pepper
• olive oil
• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 cups green seedless grapes, washed and halved
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions:

• Place a few tablespoons of whole wheat flour in a shallow bowl.
• Season chicken tenders with TSSS and black pepper.
• Dredge tenders in flour.  Reserve excess flour.
• In a large skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  Cook the chicken for a couple minutes on each side, until golden brown.  Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
• Add a couple more tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet.  Add shallots and cook for a few minutes over medium heat until soft and translucent.
• Add the grapes and continue cooking for a few minutes until grapes are slightly soft.
• Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of the reserved flour and stir for a few minutes until flour is incorporated.
• Add 2 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil while stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and simmer until the sauce thickens.  
• Add the chicken back to the skillet, coating all sides with sauce.  Sprinkle with parsley.
• Continue to simmer for a few minutes until chicken is heated through.
• Serve hot.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 whole wheat tortillas
• cooking spray
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can black or red kidney beans
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 carton (4 cups) chicken broth
• 1 packet dry enchilada seasoning
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 bay leaf
• salt & black pepper to taste

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Spray a baking sheet very lightly with cooking spray.  Slice tortillas into small strips.  Spread them out in a single layer on the cookie sheet.  Spray the top very lightly with cooking spray.  Bake for 7 - 10 minutes until crispy.  Set aside. 
• Put the rest of the ingredients into a crockpot.  Stir to combine.  Set to cook for 6 - 8 hours.
• 1/2 hour before it's set to finish cooking, shred the chicken breasts with two forks.  Stir, cover and let finish cooking.
• Ladle into bowls and top with baked tortilla chips.
• Add whatever other toppings you want.  (I added a dollop of plain yogurt.)

ETA 5/5/11:

Farfalle with Wild Mushrooms

If you didn't already know, I LOVE mushrooms.  Not the white button ones.  I LOVE the "wild" ones.  Oysters, chanterelles, morels, trumpets... ahhhh, they make me happy.

You can use pretty much any kind of mushrooms you like in this recipe. Today I used oysters and king oysters.  And while many exotic mushrooms were once wild, most of them are now cultivated, so I use the term "wild" loosely.

Farfalle with Wild Mushrooms
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound dry whole wheat farfalle
• 2 tablespoons Smart Balance
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound wild mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• water
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup non-fat milk
• few tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
• few tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• a couple teaspoons lemon zest
• a squirt of fresh lemon juice

Directions:

• Prepare farfalle to al dente, per instructions on the package.  Drain and set aside.
• In a large skillet, melt the Smart Balance with the olive oil.
• Add the mushrooms, garlic, TSSS and black pepper to taste.  Sauté until mushrooms are tender, adding water a little at a time as necessary to keep the shrooms from drying out.
• Add milk and bring to a boil.
• Add cooked pasta to the mushrooms and combine.
• Add chives, parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice and toss to coat.
• Serve immediately.

Shrimp and Veggie Stir-Fry with Oyster Sauce

The great thing about stir-frys is that they're so versatile.  You can add whatever veggies you want, cook them as short or as long as you want for crispier or softer texture, and use whatever sauce or seasonings you want.  Here's today's version.

Shrimp and Veggie Stir-Fry with Oyster Sauce
Loosely adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound baby bok choy, cleaned
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 pound green beans, cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• soy sauce
• oyster sauce

Directions:

• Boil the bok choy in a pot of water for a few minutes, until tender but not soft.  Drain and set aside.
• In a large sauté pan or wok, heat olive oil.  Add minced shallot and stir for a few minutes until soft and fragrant.  Add garlic and stir for a few seconds until fragrant.
• Stir in the shiitake mushrooms and water.  Cook, stirring frequently for 3 - 5 minutes until the mushrooms are tender.
• Add in the green beans and continue to stir for a few minutes until they are tender but still firm.
• Add in the carrots and shrimp and continue to stir for a couple of minutes until shrimp begin to turn pink.
• Toss in the cooked bok choy.
• Add a few dashes of soy sauce and oyster sauce to taste.
• Continue to stir until shrimp become slightly firm.
• Serve immediately over brown rice.

If you like it spicy, you can add some chili sauce or hot pepper flakes towards the end.