Massaged Kale Salad

Ok, as much as I love kale, I must admit I was quite apprehensive when my friend Dinah forwarded me this recipe.  Raw kale is YUCK.  Sautéed, great.  Baked into chips, great.  Boiled in soups and stews, great.  But until now, I would never have even entertained the idea of eating kale raw.

But curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to make a batch of this today (with a baggie of arugula salad in the fridge on stand-by).  And so I take back all my negative preconceptions of raw kale.  This salad is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS.  Did I already say DELICIOUS?

Even the hubs, who was a meat-and-potatoes guy when I met him 13 years ago, ate every single bite I put on his plate.  So thank you, thank you Dinah.

The only changes I made to the original recipe were to 1. omit the cayenne because I don't like spicy, and 2. added a little bit of shaved parmesan because, well, I love cheese.  Oh, and I toasted the pine nuts first.

Massaged Kale Salad
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 large handful of pine nuts
• 1 large bunch of kale
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• several turns of the black pepper grinder
• freshly-shaved parmesan

Directions:

• Spread the pine nuts on a small baking sheet and toast in the toaster oven for a couple of minutes until it begins to turn light brown.  Remove and set aside.
• Wash and spin-dry the kale, remove the thick middle stem, and chop or tear the leaves into bite-size pieces.
• Place kale, olive oil, lemon juice and salt into a large bowl.  Massage the kale with your hands for a minute until it becomes soft.
• Add avocado, garlic, pepper and pine nuts and toss.
• Top with some freshly-shaved parmesan.

I know pine nuts are very pricey, but I had to try them today per the original recipe.  I'm thinking this salad would be just as yummy with walnuts instead of pine nuts.  Especially since walnuts are 1/4th the price of pine nuts.  ;-)

Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata
Taken from this recipe (minus the parsley b/c I don't have any on hand).

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and cut through so you have 4 thinner pieces
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• freshly-ground black pepper
• a few tablespoons of whole wheat flour 
• a tablespoon of Smart Balance
• a tablespoon of olive oil
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• juice of 1 large lemon
• pinch of dried thyme
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup capers, drained

Directions:

• Season both sides of chicken breast pieces with TSSS and black pepper and dredge in flour.
• In a skillet, heat Smart Balance and olive oil until melted.  Cook chicken for a few minutes on each side until browned.  Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
• Zest 1/2 the lemon.  Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, thyme, chicken stock and capers to the pan and scrape up all the brown chicken bits.  Bring to a boil and add more seasoning as necessary.
• Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat with sauce.  Simmer for 5 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
• Transfer chicken to a serving plate and pour the sauce on top.
• Serve hot.

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

ETA on 4/30/15: Wow, looking back on the recipe, I've changed a lot over the past 4 years. I no longer use reduced-fat anything, and I no longer use Tastefully Simple products. Now it's all organic whole cheeses/dairy and Pink Himalayan Sea Salt.

These are so so so so good! I made the following modifications from the original recipe:

I couldn't find 6" whole wheat tortillas. The only whole wheat tortillas I found were either 8" or 10", so I bought the 8" ones. I also rolled them a little thicker than a typical taquito, only because I count my grain servings and didn't want too high of a grain-to-filling ratio. This recipe made 6 large taquitos, which I served cut in half on a diagonal.

I didn't have cilantro or scallions. And I used 4oz. reduced-fat cream cheese instead of 3oz, because a package is 8oz. and it was easier for me to eyeball 1/2 a brick as opposed to 3/8ths of a brick. Also, we don't normally use or keep cream cheese around, so I can make a second batch later this week and not have leftover cream cheese lying around for goodness knows how long.

I used the juice of an entire lime instead of measuring out 1 tablespoon (again, so I wouldn't have anything partial to put back into the fridge). The lime juice is key, it lends a fantastic zing to the taquitos. And I used medium salsa for a nice but not overpowering kick.

Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders
• cooking spray
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 4 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup salsa
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon Tastefully Simple Onion Onion
• 1 teaspoon Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• 1 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar
• 6 8-inch whole wheat tortillas
• Kosher salt

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Place chicken in a single layer onto the sheet, spray with cooking spray, and sprinkle with TSSS.  Bake for 15 - 17 minutes (for breasts) or 10 - 12 minutes (for tenders) until fully cooked.  Shred the cooked chicken as soon as it's cool enough to handle.  
• Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.  Lightly spray a clean baking sheet with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, mix together the chicken with the rest of the ingredients except for the tortillas and Kosher salt.
• Lay a tortilla onto a work surface and spoon onto it a few tablespoons of the chicken mixture.  Roll tightly, then place seam-side down onto the sprayed baking sheet.  Repeat with the rest of the tortillas and chicken mixture.
• Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with Kosher salt.
• Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until crispy and golden brown.

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and cut through so you have 12 thinner pieces
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• freshly-ground pepper
• whole wheat flour
• olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 15-oz. cans of dice tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons drained capers
• 1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1.5 teaspoons dried basil

Directions:

• Season chicken with TSSS and pepper, then dredge in flour, shaking off any excess.
• Sauté the chicken on both sides in a large pan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  Do in two batches if necessary.  When chicken is nicely browned on both sides, transfer to a plate and set aside.
• Add bell pepper, onion and garlic to the pan and sauté over medium heat for a few minutes until tender.
• Add the two cans of diced tomatoes, the chicken broth, capers, oregano and basil.  Stir to combine.
• Return the chicken to the pan and nestle them into the sauce.  Simmer on medium-low for 10 - 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
• Serve hot over whole wheat pasta.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Granola

I find commercially-packaged granolas way too sweet, so I end up making my own.  Granola is really easy to make, and very versatile, you can add whatever fruits and nuts you like to it.  Use Splenda and agave nectar in place of the sugar and honey to make it SBD-friendly.

I have been craving oatmeal raisin cookies all week, so I came up with this.  All the flavors of an oatmeal cookie in a crunchy granola.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Granola

Ingredients:

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup raisins

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients together (the dry).
• In a separate bowl, mix the next 3 ingredients together (the wet).
• Pour the wet into the dry and combine well.
• Line a baking sheet with a Silpat.
• Spread the granola mixture over the Silpat.
• Bake for 30 - 45 minutes until lightly browned, stirring a couple times to ensure even browning.  Sprinkle the raisins onto the mixture towards the last 5 minutes of baking.
• Remove from oven and let cool completely.  The granola will be soft while it's hot, but once it cools completely it will be nice and crunchy.
• Store in an airtight container.

Crockpot Beef Barley Stew

The original recipe is done in a dutch oven on the stove top, but considering all my Le Creuset pieces are still in boxes somewhere since we moved here over a year ago (*sigh*), I ended up throwing everything into a crockpot and it still turned out great.

Crockpot Beef Barley Stew
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2-pound roast (sirloin tip roast, chuck roast, etc.), cubed, all visible fat removed
• 6 medium carrots, sliced
• 6 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (5 oz.) packages of sliced mushrooms
• 2 (14.5 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes
• 3 cups beef broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 1 teaspoon Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• a dozen turns of the pepper grinder
• 2/3 cups of pearl barley
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• a few dashes of worcestershire sauce

Directions:

• Dump all of the ingredients, except the last 4, into a crockpot and cook for 6 - 8 hours.
• In the last 1/2 hour, whisk 1/4 cup flour and 1/3 cup water in a bowl until smooth.  Add to crockpot and stir.
• Add balsamic vinegar and worcester sauce and stir.
• Finish cooking.