Chicken Florentine

Serves four.

2 chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste

Stuffing:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine
6 cups raw spinach
1 cup basmati rice (brown or white)

Cook basmati rice in 1½ cups water or stock. Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil, deglaze with wine, and set aside. Butterfly chicken breast and pound between parchment or plastic wrap. When rice is done, add the sauté plus the fresh rosemary, lemon juice, and fresh spinach. Stir to wilt spinach. Season the chicken breast with a little salt and pepper. Fill each breast with some rice and roll to seal. You will have some rice left over. Place chicken in a lightly oiled baking pan and spoon a ¼ cup of stock on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

For a decadent finish: Remove chicken from pan when done. Degrease remaining liquid and bring to a simmer, stir in a little heavy cream, a splash of white cooking wine, and a little salt and pepper. Simmer to thicken and serve on chicken breast. Garnish with parsley.

 

From Kripalu recipes

Quinoa with Balsamic Roasted Mushrooms

Ingredients

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 small pear, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1 garlic clove, halved
2 pounds portobello mushrooms, stemmed and gills scraped out
1 cup red or white quinoa
3 cups tightly packed spinach, chopped
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 475°F.

Put vinegar, mustard, pear and garlic in a blender with 1/3 cup water and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Cut mushrooms into chunks and combine in a large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup of the pear balsamic dressing. Spread mushrooms in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast mushrooms until tender, stirring occasionally, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

While mushrooms roast, prepare quinoa. In a medium pot, bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil. Stir in quinoa, cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and set aside, covered, 10 minutes more. Uncover and fluff quinoa with a fork.

Combine mushrooms, quinoa, spinach, green onions, almonds, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup more pear balsamic dressing in a large, wide serving bowl. Stir to mix well. Serve with remaining dressing on the side.

Nutrition

Per serving: 280 calories (60 from fat), 7g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 120mg sodium, 43g total carbohydrate (7g dietary fiber, 9g sugar), 12g protein

SERVES 6. FROM WHOLE FOODS RECIPES.

Spicy tofu or chicken stirfry with thai basil and garlic

INGREDIENTS (measurements are approximate)

1 block of tofu or chicken, sliced or cubed

tbs EVOO

3/4 cup of thai basil, divided into 1/2 and 1/4 for separate entry into cooking

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 Aji Dulce peppers, sliced

1 matchstick pepper, chopped fine

2 bell peppers, sliced lengthwise

1 medium souza squash or zucchini, sliced

1-2 asian eggplant, sliced

6 oz mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup of water (add more if you want, the water will determine how saucy the dish is)

tablespoon of cornstarch (if the sauce is too thick, add more water)

pinch of sugar

dash of sesame oil

some splashes of soy

teaspoon of oyster sauce (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

(1) fry up tofu or chicken, set aside when done

(2) saute garlic, thai basil and aji dulce & matchstick peppers lightly in EVOO for a minute until softened. Then add all the veggies, cooking until close to done.

(3) meanwhile, combine all ingredients from cornstarch to the end of the list and stir until it is milky and light brown, set aside

(4) add water to the veggies, wait until it boils, then add the above (3) and stir the pan so that lumps do not form. Let it come to boil again. Add back in the tofu or chicken. Add remaining thai basil leaves. Cook until basil leaves are wilted.

Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Shallots

Ingredients

1 pound Brussels sprouts
2 large shallots, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rings
2 medium crisp, firm apples (such as Gala, Honeycrisp or Braeburn), cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 cup water, divided
1/4 cup cider vinegar, divided
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 sprigs fresh thyme

Method

Rinse Brussels sprouts well and pull off any loose or yellowing leaves. Trim the stem ends and then quarter each sprout. Set aside.

Heat a large high-sided sauté pan over high heat. Add shallots to the very hot pan and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add apples and 1/4 cup water, scraping any brown bits from the bottom as the water sizzles. Cook until the liquid reduces by half, about 2 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts, remaining 1/4 cup water, 2 tablespoons vinegar, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until the sprouts and apples are tender enough to be pierced all the way through with a fork, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Uncover, stir in remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar and the leaves pulled from sprigs of thyme. Scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan as liquid sizzles and reduces until nearly gone. Transfer to a serving bowl with any of the remaining liquid and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 7oz/201g-wt.): 80 calories (5 from fat), 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 140mg sodium, 19g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 8g sugar), 4g protei

Serves 4 to 6

From Whole Foods recipes.

Butternut Squash with Wilted Spinach and Blue Cheese

Ingredients

1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach
4 cups cubed and roasted butternut squash, warmed

Method

Use a fork to mash together blue cheese and lemon juice in a large bowl to make a thick smooth dressing. Season with salt and pepper; set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook, tossing often, until slightly wilted and warm, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer contents of skillet to bowl with dressing, add squash, salt and pepper and toss to combine.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 10oz/297g-wt.): 220 calories (70 from fat), 7g total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 5mg cholesterol, 740mg sodium, 33g total carbohydrate (5g dietary fiber, 6g sugar), 5g protein

Serves 4

From Whole Foods recipes

Tomatillo Chicken Stew

You can make this recipe with fresh tomatillos, or you can use canned chile verde tomatillo salsa as a substitute for the tomatillo sauce.

Ingredients

Tomatillo Sauce

• 1 1/2 lbs tomatillos
• 1-2 jalapeño chile peppers, or 2-3 serrano chili peppers (include the seeds if you want the heat, remove them if you don’t want the heat), stems discarded, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tbsp lime (or lemon) juice
• Pinch of sugar

Stew

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 cups tomatillo sauce
• 1 teaspoon dry oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped
• 1/2 cup packed chopped cilantro (about one bunch, rinsed and chopped, stems and leaves)

1 Make the tomatillo sauce. Remove the papery husks from the tomatillos and rinse well. Cut the tomatillos in half and place them cut-side down on an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan. Broil for 5-7 minutes until blackened in spots. Let cool enough to handle. Place the tomatillos, any juice they have released, chile peppers, garlic, salt, lime juice and sugar in a blender, and pulse until well blended. If you make ahead, refrigerate until needed.

2 Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large, thick-bottomed pot on medium high heat until almost smoking. Pat dry the cubed chicken parts with paper towels. Sprinkle salt and pepper over them. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, and adding more olive oil when necessary, brown the chicken pieces on two sides. When you place the pieces in the pan, make sure there is room between them (otherwise they will steam and not brown), and don’t move them until they are browned on one side. Then use tongs or a metal spatula to turn them over and don’t move them again until they are browned on the other side. Do not cook through, but only brown. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and lower the heat to medium. There should be a nice layer of browned bits at the bottom of the pan.

3 Add the onions to the pan, and a tablespoon or two more olive oil if needed (likely). Add ground cumin and coriander. Cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally until onions are softened and the browned bits from the chicken have been picked up by the onions and are no longer sticking to the pan. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more, until fragrant.

4 Add the browned chicken, the tomatillo sauce, chicken stock, and oregano to the pan. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, for 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Add the cilantro to the stew in the last minute or so of cooking.

Serve over white rice, accompanied with sour cream if needed to offset the heat from the chiles. The stew will thicken as it cools.

Serves 4.

From simplyrecipes.com, posted by Elise

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tomatillo_chicken_stew/

Olivada with vegetables

Olivada:
1 can medium, pitted, black olives, drained
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 small clove garlic, coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper3 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 by 1/2-inch sticks
1/2 hothouse cucumber, cut into 2 by 1/2-inch sticks
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed, halved and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup cherry tomatoes

For the Olivada:

Place all ingredients, except the salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until the mixture is chunky, scraping down the inside of the bowl, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.Transfer the olivada to a small dipping bowl and place on a serving platter. Arrange the carrots, cucumber, fennel, and cherry tomatoes around the olivada. Serve.

Squash with Herbs

Ingredients:
2 medium winter squash (about 2 pounds)
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 1/2 cups apple cider or juice
1 cup water
2 teaspoons wine or herb vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper to taste

If using delicata squash, peel it with a vegetable peeler, then cut it lengthwise in half, and scrape out the seeds. Cut each piece in half again lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Other squash should be peeled, seeded, cut into 1x 1/2 inch pieces. Melt the butter in a large skillet over low heat. Add the sage and rosemary and cook until the butter just begins to turn color-3to5minutes.Add the squash to the skillet, then the apple cider, water, vinegar, and salt. Cook stirring occasionally, over medium heat at an even boil until the cider has boiled down to a glaze and the squash is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and season with pepper and additional salt if needed.

From oldfashionedliving.com

Chicken soup

It’s been months since I’ve posted and probably years since I put up how I make something on my own. Here’s a recipe that I shared with my high school bud on facebook. I asked myself, why not copy and paste on your poor abandoned recipeslut blog? So here it is, complete with the comments I made to my friend in the original recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken, de-skinned (either a whole one or a bone-in whole breast and two leg quarters – you can add more but three legs in a soup creeps me out for some reason)

3 big carrots, peeled

3 stalks celery

medium to large onion

2 bay leaves

2 giant cloves of garlic

some peppercorns

bouquet garni (sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary)

3 big carrots, peeled and cut up

3 stalks celery, cut up

medium onion, cut into chunks

parsley, chopped

matzo ball mix (there are directions on the box)

Put everything in the first block of ingredients in a pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes, partially covered. (While waiting for it to boil, prep the second block of ingredients and make the matzo mix to put in the fridge for 30 minutes). After simmering chicken & veggies, take all the soggy veggies out, take the chicken off the bone and shred if you like but we like ours in chunks and put the chicken back in the broth. (Put pot of water on before dealing with the chicken). Add the second block of ingredients to the chunked chicken and broth, cook under low heat for 30 minutes, partially covered. At the same time, form matzo balls and put in the pot of boiling water, turn down to simmer for 30 minutes.

Then put the balls in the soup, sprinkle generously with parsley and nom nom nom with some crusty bread! :d

Portobello and Asparagus Salad

Ingredients

• 4 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus, tough ends removed
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 pound penne pasta, cooked
• Seasoning, recipe follows

Directions

Remove stems from portobello mushrooms.

Brush mushrooms, asparagus and tomatoes with olive oil. Grill mushrooms over medium heat until tender, 4 to 5 minutes per side, turning occasionally. Cut mushrooms into thin strips; place in a medium bowl.

Grill asparagus over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, turning occasionally. Cut asparagus into 2 inch lengths; add to mushrooms in bowl.

Grill tomatoes, cut side down, over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add to mushrooms and asparagus and toss in the pasta. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Sprinkle with seasoning, tossing gently to coat.

Seasoning:

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and transfer to an airtight container. Store in a cool, dry place up to 6 months.

From foodtv.com