Chicken Stuffed with Basil and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are a great lean protein and a staple in this kitchen.  But they can get old when you eat them over and over.  How can you spruce up boring old chicken breasts?  Stuff them!

I've done Cordon Bleu-ish Chicken stuffed with ham and cheese, Chicken Stuffed with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Chicken Saltimbocca (can we say "prosciutto, YUM!"?).  Today I was admiring my beautiful little basil plant with its luscious green leaves, and I decided to use them to stuff tonight's chicken breasts.  Deee-lish!

Chicken Stuffed with Basil and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• PAM
• 4 medium chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, all visible fat removed
• 4 teaspoons sun-dried tomatoes, drained (chopped, sliced or whole, it doesn't matter)
• 8 - 12 fresh large basil leaves, washed and dried
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a baking pan with PAM.
• Butterfly the chicken breasts.  (Pound them out to 1/4" thickness if you desire.)
• Open up the breasts and layer each one with a teaspoon of sun-dried tomatoes and 2 - 3 basil leaves. 
• Close up the breasts and sprinkle both sides with TSSS.  
• Tlace the stuffed breasts in the sprayed baking pan.
• Bake until cooked through, approximately 25-30 minutes.

Portobello Cheese Steak Sandwich

Some reviewers from the original recipe site say this tastes just like a traditional Philly Cheese Steak that's made from beef.  It does not.  To say that mushrooms taste like beef is ludicrous in my book.

What it is, however, is a damn good mushroom sandwich.  Very tasty and satisfying.

I used both red and green bell peppers only because a certain 3-year-old wandered into the kitchen while I was prepping, and somehow half of my red bell pepper slices disappeared.  I only had green left after that, so added some of that in.  Otherwise I would have stuck with all red, they're sweeter.  I also made it a tad saucier than the original recipe.

I halved the recipe because it's just me and the hubs eating this tonight, and I don't think it would re-heat well.  If you had to pack up leftovers, I'd recommend dividing out the veggie mixture before placing the cheese on top, and then just adding and melting the cheese the next day when you are ready to eat it.

Portobello Cheese Steak Sandwich
Makes 2 sandwiches
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• a teaspoon of olive oil
• half an onion, sliced
• 1 6-oz. package of portobellos, sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• a few turns of the black pepper grinder
• 2 teaspoons whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 slices of reduced-fat provolone
• 2 whole wheat rosemary buns, split and toasted

Directions:

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, for 2 - 3 minutes until soft. 
• Add mushrooms, bell pepper, oregano and black pepper and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are wilted and soft.
• Reduce heat to low; sprinkle the vegetables with flour and stir to coat. Stir for 30 seconds until the flour loses its raw taste.
• Stir in broth and soy sauce and bring to a simmer. It will begin to thicken.
• Remove from the heat and place the cheese slices on top of the vegetables.  Cover and let stand for a minute until the cheese is melted.
• Divide the mixture in half and and onto each toasted bun.
• Serve immediately.

Grilled Basil Lime Shrimp

Grilled Basil Lime Shrimp

Ingredients:

• 1 pound large shrimp (25-30 count), peeled and de-veined
• olive oil
• 1 lime, halved
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• dried basil

Directions:

• In a bowl, combine the shrimp with a drizzle of olive oil, the juice of half a lime, a dash of TSSS, a few generous shakes of TSGG, and about a teaspoon of dried basil.  Cover and let marinate in the fridge for 15 - 30 minutes.
• Soak 5 or 6 bamboo skewers in water.
• Pre-heat grill to medium-high.  Skewer 4 to 5 shrimps onto each bamboo skewer and discard the marinade.  Grill for a few minutes on each side, until shrimps lose their translucency.  Spritz with the juice from the remaining half lime before serving.

Grilled Lemon Pepper Fish

Lemon Pepper Chicken?  Sure.  Lemon Pepper Fish?  Why not.  I used my Lemon Pepper Chicken recipe on some fresh wild Sockeye salmon tonight and it was delish.  Try it, and eat more fish!

Grilled Lemon Pepper Fish

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1.5 pounds of fish (I used a fresh wild Sockeye salmon fillet, skin on)
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt (to taste)
• freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
• 1 lemon (to taste)
• olive oil

Directions:

• Place fish, skin side down, on a plate or cutting board.  Liberally season with TSSS and pepper.
• Zest the lemon onto the fish.  Then cut the lemon and squeeze the juice onto the fish.
• Drizzle with olive oil.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
• Pre-heat grill to medium-high heat.
• Remove plastic wrap from fish and place skin side up on grill.  Cook, covered, for about 5 minutes.  Then flip the fish over to skin side down and cook, covered, for another 5 minutes until cooked through.  
• Remove fish from grill and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Grilled Salmon with Dijon Soy Marinade

Ina calls this Asian Grilled Salmon, but I don't recall Dijon mustard ever being an Asian ingredient.  Or olive oil for that matter.  So I re-named it to Grilled Salmon with Dijon Soy Marinade.  But whatever you want to call it, you'll have to agree it's delicious.

I cut back on the proportion of soy sauce because I found Ina's recipe to be a little too salty.  I also cut back a little on the amount of olive oil, because while it is a healthful ingredient, it's still a fat.  I only used a 1-pound sockeye filet (with skin on), so I reduced the marinade to 1/3 of the original recipe.  This was the perfect amount for two adults and a three-year-old-who-loves-fish.

Grilled Salmon with Dijon Soy Marinade
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. fresh wild sockeye salmon filet, de-boned, skin on
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 clove garlic, minced

 Directions:

• Pre-heat grill on medium-high heat.
• Place salmon skin side down on a cutting board and cut into 2 - 3 portions.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and garlic.
• Drizzle marinade over salmon pieces and use a brush or spoon to evenly coat the fish.  NOTE: If you are planning on using the leftover marinade to top the salmon after grilling (optional), make sure you do not touch the dirty brush or spoon (with raw fish on it) to the marinade.
• Let sit for 10 minutes.
• Grill 5 minutes skin side up, then flip and grill for another 5 minutes skin side down.
• Remove skin before serving.  If you'd like, drizzle the leftover marinade over the fish before serving.

Eat more fish!

Grilled Buttermilk Chicken

I love summer grilling.  Our previous grill died on us last summer, and we'd been putting off buying a new one.  I got me one of those stove-top grill pans, but it's just not the same thing.  So last month we bought a new grill and if you've noticed a decrease in my posts it's because of that.  I don't really have grill recipes.  I just take the steaks or chicken breasts or shrimp or whatever, sprinkle some TSSS and maybe some TSGG on it, rub it with some EVOO, and slap it on the grill.  Lots of flavor for minimal work.

I was searching the Web a few weeks ago for new chicken recipes and came across this.  Grilled Buttermilk Chicken.  Having lived in the South (Alabama and Tennessee) for umpteen years, I'm very familiar with buttermilk FRIED chicken.  But grilled?  I was intrigued.

The original recipe calls for bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces.  But of course that's a no-no on the South Beach Diet.  I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which I butterflied and cut through in half so I had thinner slices that would grill up more quickly.  It was perfect - flavorful, juicy and delicious.

The only catch is that the buttermilk marinade does make the grill a little messy.  But oh so worth it.

Grilled Buttermilk Chicken
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1.5 cup lowfat buttermilk (enough to cover your chicken pieces)
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped (or 2 tablespoons Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic)
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and cut all the way through so you have 8 thinner pieces

Directions:

• In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, garlic, paprika and TSSS to taste.
• Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat completely.
• Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• When ready to grill, pre-heat the grill to medium-high.  Grill the chicken for 7-10 minutes on each side, until cooked through.  Discard any remaining marinade.

Honey Soy Grilled Salmon

This was so delish.  I bet the salmon would still be good with just the glaze (without the herb stuffing).  I bet the glaze would be good on chicken too.  Mmm mmm good!

Honey Soy Grilled Salmon
Taken directly from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 4 6-oz. center cut wild salmon filets with skin on
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons honey (use agave nectar to be completely SBD-legal)
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce

Directions:

• Pre-heat grill to medium-high heat.
• In a small bowl, combine cilantro, scallions, olive oil, ginger, and TSSS to taste.  Set aside.
• On a cutting board, place the salmon filets skin-side down.  Using a sharp knife, cut a slit down the middle of each filet, lengthwise.
• Divide the herb mixture and stuff into the slit of each salmon filet.
• In a separate bowl mix the lime juice, honey and soy sauce.  Brush this glaze generously on top of each stuffed filet.
• Grill the stuffed filets, skin-side up, for 3-4 minutes.  Turn the fish over (skin-side down), brush with glaze again, and grill an additional 3-4 minutes until it is cooked through.
• Remove the skin (it will peel off very easily) and serve hot.

Chicken Veggie Alfredo

I modified Ellie's recipe only because I don't like leaving half-opened cans of evaporated milk around.  Half a box of fettuccine, ok, but not half a can of milk.  Half a box (8 oz.) of fettuccine because it's easier for me to eyeball than the 12 oz. per Ellie's recipe.  That plus added veggies and beans makes plenty for our family of 2 adults and a toddler, with leftovers for lunch the next day.  I grilled the chicken because the weather was beautiful today and I wanted to play outside. I increased the amount of sauce because many reviewers recommended that about Ellie's recipe, and I doubled the veggies and added some beans.  The magical fruit, right?  ;-)  The results were scrumptious.

Chicken Veggie Alfredo
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces (1/2 pound or 1/2 box) of whole wheat fettuccine
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced and divided
• 2 zucchini, thinly sliced into half-moons
• 2 broccoli crowns, chopped into bite-size pieces and blanched
• 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1 cup cold fat free milk
• 1 (12 oz.) can of fat free evaporated milk
• 1 cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese
• 1 (15 oz.) can of great northern beans, drained

Directions:

• Prepare the fettuccine per instructions on the box.  Drain, reserving some of the pasta water, and set aside.
• Season both sides of chicken breasts with TSSS and grill until fully cooked.  Once cooled enough to handle, slice the cooked chicken and set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté 1 minced clove of garlic with the zucchini and blanched broccoli for a few minutes until the zukes are soft and the broccoli is slightly firm.  Transfer veggies to a plate and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, fat free milk and fat free evaporated milk.
• Return the empty skillet to medium-high heat and add in the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 minced clove of garlic, stirring for 30 seconds until fragrant.
• Add the flour-milk mixture to the skillet and bring to a boil, stirring often.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for a couple of minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.  Add the cheese and TSSS to taste and stir until the cheese is melted.
• Toss in the sliced chicken, veggies, beans and cooked pasta.  Add some of the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce as necessary.
• Serve hot.

Garlic Shrimp and Chickpeas

Garlic Shrimp and Chickpeas
Taken from this recipe.


Ingredients:

• 2 15-oz. cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Toss chickpeas with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and TSSS to taste.  Pour into a rectangular baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes until they are golden.
• In the meantime, toss shrimp with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, TSSS, TSGG and lemon zest and let sit to marinate for at least 10 minutes.
• After they have baked for 20 minutes, remove the dish of chickpeas from the oven and place the shrimp on top.  Return to the oven and continue baking for 8-10 minutes until shrimp are completely pink and cooked through.
• Sprinkle with lemon juice before serving.

Chicken and Mushrooms

This is a spin on Paula Deen's Chicken Georgia recipe.  I really can't justify a half stick of butter going into anything (except maybe buttercream icing), so I replaced it with olive oil and Smart Balance.  I increased the amount of shallots and mushrooms because I love shrooms, and I added some white wine to create more sauce.  I also added a large pinch of thyme because I had it on hand.  YUM!

Chicken and Mushrooms
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• a couple tablespoons of olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• a couple tablespoons of Smart Balance
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• 2 medium shallots, minced
• 1 10-oz. bag (approx. 2 cups) of sliced crimini mushrooms
• large pinch of dried thyme
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 4 oz. freshly-grated part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Butterfly each chicken breast and cut straight through so you have 8 thinner pieces.  Season both sides of each piece with TSSS.  Place chicken in skillet and cook for a few minutes on each side until browned and cooked through.  Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium and add the Smart Balance to the skillet to melt it.
• Add the shallots, shrooms, thyme and TSSS and TSGG to season.  Sauté until everything is cooked and soft.
• Add the white wine to the skillet and deglaze, scraping up all the yummy brown bits at the bottom.  Move the mushrooms to the edges of the skillet and return the browned chicken to the center of the skillet.  Top the chicken with the shredded mozzarella.
• Turn off the heat and cover the skillet.  Let sit for a minute until cheese is melted.
• Plate the chicken, then pour the mushroom sauce mixture on top.