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...

Asian Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

Made this great dish tonight as part of our lower-carb diet.  I have always wanted to try some lettuce wraps and I found this recipe from Busch's Market in the Ann Arbor area. They have wonderful recipe cards (and they used to have them online also - but on the new website the links appear to be broken).  Anyway, I love the way this turned out. It takes a little time to get everything prepped, but once you get going, the food cooks very quickly.  You can have it over rice or with regular tortillas.  The filling tastes great and I love it with the lettuce wraps!

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

1 tbsp Lime juice
1/4 tsp Cornstarch
2 tsp Sesame oil
2 tsp Garlic, minced
1 pound 41-50 count peeled and deveined
8 oz White mushrooms, stems trimmed, then quartered.
2 tbsp Soy sauce
1 can (8 oz.) Water chestnuts, cut into strips
2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
2 tsp Rice vinegar
12 Boston or iceberg lettuce leaves

Directions

1. In small bowl, whisk together lime juice and cornstarch. Set aside.

2. In large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add shrimp and cook 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and soy sauce, then cook for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir lime juice mixture into skillet and cook 30 seconds.

4, Stir in water chestnuts, hoisin sauce and rice vinegar. Cook for about 1 minute until sauce is bubbling. Then remove from heat.

5. Spoon the shrimp mixture into the lettuce leaves.

Enjoy!

Chicken & Chickpea Stew

I found this great new recipe from Eating Well for Middle Eastern Chicken & Chickpea Stew.  I was actually in the waiting area for my annual checkup when I found this recipe (not sure where my copy is at home).  This looked like a great recipe and one that would be fantastic for the new year.  I played with this a bit and added some more veggies so I could eat it all by itself.  If you wanted to serve this with rice or another grain, I think it would be perfect.  I love a chicken stew and this was fantastic.  I except it will be great for lunches as well!

Ingredients (4-5 servings)

1 tbsp Garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tbsp Olive oil
10-12 Kalamata olives, pitted
1 tbsp Capers, drained
1 Yellow onion (medium), chopped
1 Green pepper, diced
1 14-ounce can Petite diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can Chickpeas, rinsed
1/3 cup Chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 tbsp Parsley, dried

Directions

1. Whisk garlic, kosher salt, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, cinnamon and black pepper in a bowl. Add chicken and let marinate for 20 minutes in the refrigerator. 
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olives, capers, onion and green pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for 6 to 8 minutes. 
3. Add chicken with marinade to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5-7 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, chickpeas, broth and dried parsley and mix until well blended.
4. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes more, stirring once or twice.

Enjoy!

Coconut Almond Biscotti

As you may know, I LOVE biscotti.  And over the past few years, I have shared a number of recipes that I have used over and over again for this wonderful treat (see the biscotti recipes on my blog).  I have been wanted to add some more biscotti recipes to my repertoire.  On of the motivating factors for finding this one was an extra bag of coconut that we had in the house after the holidays.  What to make???  Well, I found this great recipe on Cooking Light for coconut biscotti and I want to give it a whirl.  I also had some almond meal in my house (which is essentially ground almonds - and sometimes called almond flour) that I wanted to use.  So using a light recipe, I played with it a bit and I created a new recipe for coconut almond biscotti.  I think because you use so much coconut, that you can really pull back the butter.  I am not sure of the calories here - but I think (emphasis on think) that this is really not that bad.  So if you have to have biscotti - I think this is a potentially low-calorie and somewhat better than your run of the mill biscotti that you will find.  For me, I loved it and it is a keeper for sure!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Flour (plus some for making the cookie log)
1/2 cup Almond meal (or almond flour)
1 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
3/4 cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 tbsp Butter
2 large Eggs
1 cup Flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 cup Chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300°.

2. Add flour, almond meal, baking powder, salt, baking soda and nutmeg in a mixing bowl.

3. Add sugar, vanilla extract, butter and eggs in a large mixing bowl or mixer.  Beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes.

4. Add the flour mixture, coconut and chocolate chips to the sugar mixture.  Mix until well blended (should happen in under a minute.

5. On a floured surface, mold the dough into a log around 15" long and no more than 1" high.  Move to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

6. Bake at 300° for 40 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes.

7. Cut roll diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices.  Stand slices upright on baking sheet with at least 1/2 inch between them.  Bake for 20 minutes and then let them cool completely on wire rack.

Enjoy!

Simple Chicken and Mushrooms

It is nice to have a recipe that can come together quickly when you are tired or are just not in the mood for something complicated.  This is normally when you go out or get food to go.  But since you almost always do better at home, it is good to have some easy recipes with food that you are likely to have in your house.  So if you are debating what to do for dinner - you might be 45 minutes away from this meal.  Add some rice to go with this and you have a very satisfying meal.  I found this recipe for chicken and mushrooms from Martha Stewart for a simple chicken and mushroom dish. I want to play with this a bit more, but I really liked this and thought it made a really nice dinner.

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

1/4 cup Flour
3 Chicken breasts, trimmed and cut in half
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper
2 tbsp Olive oil, divided
2 tbsp Butter
12 oz Mushrooms, trimmed and cut in half (white mushrooms work well)
1 tsp Thyme, dried
1/4 cup White wine
1/2 cup Chicken broth
1 tbsp Parsley, dried

Directions

1. Place flour in a shallow dish. Season chicken with kosher salt and pepper, then coat with flour, shaking off excess.

2. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and butter over medium-high. Cook chicken for 4 minutes, then turn for 3 minutes (until browned). Transfer to a plate and tent loosely with foil.

3. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Add mushrooms and thyme and cook for 4-5 minutes.

4. Add wine, broth and parsley and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly. Return chicken to pan to mix with mushrooms and sauce.

Enjoy!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts

I never thought I would be a fan of brussels sprouts.  As a kid, these would be steamed, bland, healthy and well, very hard to eat!  But more and more over the past 20 years, chefs have done a great job of making these once feared veggies into a real treat.  The trick for most of these methods of cooking is adding bacon or deep frying.  I did not want to try this...I want to try to do this a bit on the healthy side...and I like how this came out.

I pieced this together from a number of recipes I found on the web.  I triangulated them and it make a great dish that was tasty and healthier (I am pretty sure) than many that I found on the web and in cookbooks.  This was a very simple dish to make (which is always nice).  Enjoy this as a side dish.

Ingredients (serves 4-5 as a side)

1 lbs Brussels Sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
1 tbsp & 1 tsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper
1/3 cup Walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, add brussels sprouts, olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper.  Add to a roasting pan or cookie sheet (with rim).  Spread out in a single layer and bake for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the oven.  Add walnuts and mix thoroughly.  Return to the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes more.

Enjoy!