Chicken Scaloppine with Roasted Vegetables

I found a great recipe from Cooking Light for Chicken Scaloppine over Broccoli Rabe. I waned to play with this a bit to add more veggies and create a dish that would not need a starch as a side. I think that we really came up with something really good here. The chicken tasted fantastic and I love the roasted broccoli and mushrooms. It was very filling.  Furthermore, it reheated beautifully for lunch the following day.  I think this is going to be a regular at our house.

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
3 tbsp Olive oil, divided
2 Broccoli crowns, trimmed to florets

12 oz Mushrooms, stems trimmed

20-24 Kalamata olives, pitted

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/2 tsp Oregano

1/2 tsp Black pepper, divided

1/3 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs

2 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast cutlets, cut in half and pounded thin (around 1/4")
1/4 cup Dry white wine or cooking white wine
1/4 cup Chicken broth
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tbsp Butter
2 tsp Parsley, dried

1 tbsp Capers, rinsed and drained

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, add 2 tbsp olive oil, broccoli florets, mushrooms, olives, kosher salt, oregano and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  Mix gently until the vegetables are coated with oil.  Place vegetable mixture in a jelly roll pan or a baking pan with a lip.  
3. Roast in oven for 24-26 minutes, stirring half-way through.
4. Meanwhile, combine breadcrumbs and remaining 1/4 tsp pepper in a shallow dish; dredge chicken in breadcrumb mixture.
5. Around the halfway mark of the roasted vegetables, heat the remaining tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat.  
6. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm under foil.
7. In the same pan, add wine, broth, lemon juice, butter, dried parsley and capers.  Lower heat to medium and scrape the pan to loosen browned bits. Cook for 3 minutes until it creates a nice sauce.  

Enjoy chicken with roasted vegetables with sauce on each portion.

Chocolate Coconut Cookies

Browsing a recent issue of Cooking Light (my favorite cooking mag), I stumbled across this recipe for a healthier cookie (Crunchy-Chewy Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies).  I played with the recipe a bit and LOVED the way it came out.  We have been really smitten (as so many people are) with having sea salt added to cookies.  At our local grocery store, they make this amazing cookies with sea salt and caramel.  Funny story - we were shopping there one night when a fellow shopper (and older woman) came over to us and told us that we HAD to try these cookies.  As they often do at Busch's in Saline - they have samples out.  Well she practically forced us to try the cookie.  Well, it was love at first bite (as they say).  The cookies were simply put - the best I have ever had.  Healthy?  Probably not.  So that put us on an Odyssey to find a good alternative that we can make at home.  And boy did we find one.  I played with the recipe for the first go around.  I will play more over the coming months - but this is definitely a keeper.  These cookies came out great.  And are they healthy?  Well, they are healthier than the ones we find out and about.  Baby steps....

Ingredients (makes 36-38 cookies)

1 cup Light brown sugar (packed)
4 tbsp Canola oil
8 tbsp Butter, softened
2 tbsp Honey
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 Egg (large)
2 cups plus 2 tbsp Whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp Baking soda
3/8 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup Shredded coconut, packed
1/2 tsp Coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. In a stand mixer, place the brown sugar, oil and butter in the bowl.  Beat at medium speed until  blended. Add honey, vanilla, and egg and mix until well combined.
3. In another mixing bowl, add flour, baking soda and salt, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until almost combined. Add chocolate chips and shredded coconut  until combined.
4. Spoon dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets (12-14 cookies per sheet).  Sprinkle a small amount of sea salt over each cookie (lots will end up on the baking sheet).  Bake in batches at 375° for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool cookies on pan 3 minutes, then move to a  wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!  BTW - These are so good that we needed protection from eating them all...