Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Chicken

Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Chicken

 

Ahh, what an unexpected gift to have time to kitchen-craft,
AND if I hurry...blog about it!

 

 

 

Trim and butterfly 4 boneless chicken breasts. Set aside.

 

 

In a large pan:

     drizzle olive oil (or coconut oil)

     Lemon or lime zest

     diced onion (about half a large onion)

     chopped mushrooms

     several cloves of garlic-crushed

Sautee until it starts to turn transparent.

Then add:

     1bag baby spinach

     squeeze about half a lime over

Sautee until wilted and let cool.

 

 

In bowl combine:

     1 cup lactose-free cottage cheese

     about 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

     fresh ground black pepper

Use immersion blender to mix and smooth consistency (like ricotta cheese)

Stir in:

     fresh chives (or dried)

     fresh parsley (or dried)

     1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

     chopped artichokes (not marinated)

     cooled spinach mixture

 

lightly spray (or rub) outsides of chicken with olive oil

dust lightly with flour (optional)

and quickly sear in a hot pan (use the same well flavored pan you cooked the spinach in)

 

Spread a thin layer of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a baking dish.  Place the chicken (bottom half) in the dish, and spoon the filling over them, put the top pieces of chicken on, add some slivered mushrooms and cover with sauce.  Top with some cheese if you want.  I used a little bit of finely shredded raw milk cheddar cheese.

 

Bake at 350 about 45 min or until your chicken is completely cooked. (Might be longer if your chicken breasts were thicker.)

 

Another version...in a similar dinner a while back, I opted for lemon oil, lemon zest, cilantro and more garlic combined and brushed over chicken (just brown them a little longer) then wrap with prosciutto and bake in a baking dish at 350, about 30 minutes.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Breakfast Treats

Pintrest and Facebook Breakfast posts inspired me!

Here are my versions...

I used a mini-loaf pan instead of a muffin tin and coated with coconut oil.

For the English muffin sandwhiches I just roughly chopped some spinach and laid it in. Cracked an egg on top and sprinkled with salt pepper and cilantro.  They baked about 14 minutes at 350 and the yolks were still soft. They made fantastic sandwiches! (None of those left for the fridge.)

The "omlets" were really good too! I put a small handful of hash browns in first. (Next time I think I will try cooking them a bit before topping with the egg mixture.) I then mixed the following in a bowl:

  8 eggs (2extra because of the bigger pan)

  Salt pepper cilantro parsley

  A gob (nice precise measurement haha!) of grass fed butter

  A1/2 cup LiveActive cottage cheese

Used an immersion blender to mix well, then added chopped spinach, chopped chives (didn't have any onion), diced cherry tomatoes and Jimmy Dean crumbled turkey sausage.

Poured it over the hash browns and baked at 350 about 24 minutes. 

Yummy!

Chicken Soup

 

It all started last week with a roasted organic chicken...

 

Delicious with carrots, red potatoes, onion, roasted garlic and sweet potatoes.

 

Then I took the bones, and some vegetables and

slow simmered some delicious bone broth.

 

Now...

 

Chicken Soup!

 

 

Add chicken meat removed from the bone to the broth

 (I added some roasted breast meat since we ate most of the meat from the whole chicken I had done earlier! Roasted boneless breasts in some of the broth along with fresh basil, chives, cilantro, black pepper and lime juice.)

Chopped Organic carrots,

One large diced leek

One medium peeled and diced turnip

several stalks of celery with leaves

Crimini mushrooms-sliced

chopped chives

chopped baby spinach (about half a bag)

season with sea salt and ground pepper, a bay leaf, 

cayenne pepper, lime zest

 

Planning to top with a squeeze of lime juice, a dollup of plain, greek, whole milk yogurt and some slivers of avocado

 

Is it dinner time yet, because it smells wonderful!!

 

 

Ham and Bean Soup

Ham and Bean Soup

Post Christmas...I have a hambone, so of course I'm thinking SOUP!!

In typical fashion I browsed some recipes, including one from my friend Jeannine, and one from my cousin Kelly...then I just started creating my own version.

 

I started by stripping the hambone pretty clean and then I put it in a pan of water with some crushed garlic, chopped celery, Rosemary, dried or fresh lime zest, and some fresh cilantro.

Next, I sautéed some chopped onion with a bit of red pepper flakes.

 



 

One of the recipes had included escarole...I used spinach instead! 

 'Threw it in on top of the onions to wilt.

 

Into the pot it went...simmer away soup...simmer away!

(Covered, on LOW, hours...)

 



 

Let's see...what else do I have in the crisper drawer???

Carrots!

 

 

oooo...radishes will add a little zip!

 



 

 

Mushrooms sound good!

 



 

 

Oranges?  Nah, just kidding...I needed a snack! LOL

 



 

So, here's my school of thought...

I pick the bone well before I start the soup (chicken and turkey too).

Then, as the bone simmers, what meat is left lends it's flavor to the broth.  I find the meat on the bone

rather tasteless and bland after, so instead of simmering a short time and stripping the meat for the soup, I simmer it a long time and then discard the whole bone (all the flavor left in the broth) and

and use the meat I had set aside.

Also...

at this point it was bed time.  I cooled the broth over night and skimmed off the fat in the morning...

I know the fat makes it flavorful, but I needed healthier! (and there was very good flavor anyway!)

 

Warmed the soup again, added the ham

(what was in the bag is what I had set aside for soup)

 and several cans of beans!

 



 

I rinsed all the beans well to reduce the salt.  I also used my immersion blender to

puree some of the soup with the tomatoes and the larger beans--pintos and butter beans. 

(My family doesn't particularly care for large beans in their soup.)

It gives the soup a nice thick consistency and flavor.

 

Mmmm....simmered until dinner (no lid so it reduces slightly)

 

Some toppings??

 

 

Kris's Ham and Bean Soup:

 

Strip hambone and set aside meat to add to soup later

Place bone in deep pan with water and seasonings of choice:

   crushed fresh garlic

   Rosemary

   lime zest

   fresh chopped cilantro

Add veggies etc...

   Diced celery (with leaves)

   chopped carrots

   chopped radishes

   diced mushrooms

Sautee and add:

   diced onions

   red pepper flakes

   baby spinach

Cover and simmer on LOW until well flavored (couple hours)

Remove bone (optional add in any meat from bone that has retained flavor-sometimes there is some deep between the bones that is still worth adding)

Cool until fat floats to top and solidifies.

Skim off fat with a flat spoon and discard.

Remove a portion of the soup and puree with low salt diced tomatoes, a can of pinto beans and a can of butter beans (or Great Northern beans)- Rinse beans well to reduce salt.

Warm soup and add ham previously set aside.

Add rinsed Small White Beans and Black Beans.

Simmer uncovered to reduce.

Serve with grated cheese and sliced green onions. (Hot sauce and crackers optional)

 

Tuna Lettuce Wraps

Something Different...

Tuna Lettuce Wraps!

 

     I'm tired of salad for lunch everyday, and tired of making them too.  I sent my husband to the store and he came home with iceberg lettuce...blech!  I have dubbed it the "polyester of all vegetables."

 

 

so...here is what I came up with to shake up lunch and use up that iceberg...

 

     I took an envelope of light tuna in water, added about 1 tablespoon chopped onion, a dash of cilantro and parsley, one chopped hard boiled egg, 1 stalk of celery with leaves, and 1-2 tablespoons of greek yogurt ranch dressing.  Spooned it onto a half lettuce leaf  and rolled it up.  It made about 5 or 6 rolls.  I put them in a container, and into my lunch bag it went with a few cherry tomatoes, an apple and some homebrewed and chilled green tea...LUNCH!!! (well, except for the one I ate...it ripped, I had to eat it!)

According to My Fitness Pal, the lettuce rolls are about 200 calories, 2.7g carbs, and 24g protein.

Happy Lunch, Kris

Sauerkraut Salad

 

Sauerkraut Salad

 

 

Sauerkraut is a probiotic, and low in calories...

but not so much when you pair it up with Polish Sausage in your crockpot. 

So here is an alternative good for Cycle 1! 

 

*Actually...

Rinse the sauerkraut (to cut down on salt),

add a dollop of local honey, a bit of seasonings,

and use Turkey Kielbasa.

Cook on low in crockpot. 

1 cup of Sauerkraut and I link is only

140 calories...but NOT a Cycle 1 dinner (good for Cycle 3)

 

Sauerkraut Salad:

Ingredients:

1 (32oz) package of Sauerkraut

1 Cup diced Celery

1/2 Cup chopped onion

1/2 Cup chopped green or red pepper

6 packets Truvia (1 Cup sugar)

5 Tablespoons Olive oil (1/3 Cup cooking oil)

5 Tablespoons Vinegar

Herbs of Choice (oregano, pepper, parsley, celery seed, garlic...NO added salt)

Directions:

Rinse and drain Sauerkraut. Squeeze out excess moisture.  In a large bowl, combine the sauerkraut, celery, onion, and green/red pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, sweetener, and vinegar.  Add herbs of choice.  Add to the sauerkraut mixture and stir well.  Cover and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours).

1/2 cup = 52 calories, and counts as one probiotic serving for the day.

 

I also adjusted to make half a bag (and used the other half in the crockpot) 3 packets of Truvia, 2 Tbs oil, 2 Tbs vinegar, 1/4 cup onion and pepper, 1/2 cup celery.

Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette and Yogurt Dip

 

Lunch Please...

Hmmm...what to eat?  This is pretty typical of my lunches lately.

I sure do love the Farmer's Market and the summer produce!

 

Start...

with a bed of lettuce, the darker the better, like a combination of curly red lettuce,

baby Kale, and baby spinach.

 

Then comes the fun part...

basically, what ever I have in my crisper drawer of the refrigerator

or in a basket on my counter top...

Green onions, tomatoes, fresh cilantro and basil, red and green peppers,

sliced hard boiled eggs, and whatever else...

(it was toward the end of the week...not my usual variety, but not bad.)

 

Protein???

An envelope of tuna. (I prefer the envelop over the can when eating it plain especially)

I also like to cook extra chicken and have it on hand to slice up and add to salads.

 

Dressing??

Why Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette of course!

Hmm...better add that recipe to this post huh?

 

Lime-Cilantro Vinaigrette

1/4 cup water

juice (and pulp) of one large lime

1/2 cup olive oil (or a blend of Olive and Flax Oil)

fresh chopped Cilantro

 

Mix together in a jar or dressing cruet and keep refrigerated.

 

 

A little something crunchy?

...some more veggies of course!! 

I had cauliflower, green beans, and celery.

 

And to dip???

 

Yogurt Dip!

Much less guilt, calories and fat!! and yet delicious!  WooHoo!!

Prepare the night before...

 

 

Put two white paper towels in a sieve and place over a deep bowl.

Pour in a 32 ounce container of Plain Low-Fat yogurt.

(Or...Fat Free or Plain Low or No-Fat Greek yogurt if you prefer)

Cover with saran wrap and place in refrigerator.

After 8 hours (usually I leave overnight), you will have yogurt cheese.

Yogurt cheese is a lot like cream cheese. Delicious as is, but to make it into dip,

add your seasonings of choice...such as garlic and onion.

One of my favorites...add 1/2 to whole envelope of dry Ranch Dip Mix.

Try to stay out of it until it has had a chance to season through nicely.