Chicken with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Spinach, Artichoke Hearts and Dijon Pan Sauce

I'm posting this one because it's healthy and I didn't use anything weird that people may be afraid to try. And it's almost as easy as making a sandwich.

5-7 julienned sun dried tomatoes
can of quartered artichoke hearts
half a bag of fresh spinach
2 chicken breasts flattened and marinated in any garlic-herb seasoning (you can even buy a bottle of it)

Warm a bit of extra virgin olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add chicken breasts (really important you flatten them to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick) and saute a couple minutes on each side until a little browned and almost done.

Add sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, fresh spinach and the juice of half a lemon to the pan and cook until spinach begins to wilt.

Pan Sauce:
Move the chicken and veg to the sides of the pan and add about a tablespoon of Smart Balance (or butter, if you must) and about the same amount of dijon mustard right in the middle of the pan. If you are unfamiliar with pan sauces, PLEASE don't ever use yellow mustard in something like this because it will end up tasting like a hot dog. Break down the butter and dijon and add chicken stock. I don't know how much! I never measure! I'm guessing about 1/2 cup. Let reduce and thicken and add a splash more until you have amount of sauce you want.

Plate pretty and eat. Oh, the temp you want to use is in the middle of medium and medium high. Enjoy!

If Heaven is Real, it's Made of Quinoa Soup

I wish I could take credit for this soup, but it's not my recipe. I nabbed it from bread-and-honey.blogspot.com. I changed a few very small things, but of course, I didn't write them down. You can't go wrong with this soup. It is the ultimate "this will heal you whilst you're sick in bed" soup. I ate 6 bowls of it in one evening. Phenomenal. I added a shake of red pepper flakes and paprika, because I'm Greek and add paprika to everything.

About 8 cups of chicken stock
A heaping plateful of mushrooms, chopped into bite-sized hunks. (we used shiitake, portabella, and criminis)
1 yellow onion, cut in half then slivered
a few cloves of garlic, finely minced
Juice of half a lemon
Brown mustard (something fancy, if you've got it. Stone ground whatever.)
Large handful of fresh spinach
1 cup of quinoa
Fresh Thyme
Hunk of butter (Stacey used Smart Balance)

In a large stock pot, saute onions & garlic with chopped mushrooms. Squeeze in juice of half a lemon, a generous squirt of brown mustard, and throw in a chunk of butter. Stir frequently while sauteing, and when everything begins to cook down and soften, add 6 cups of chicken stock, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

In another pot cook 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of chicken stock. Keep to the side until the end.

To the soup pot, add 2 whole chicken legs (thigh & drumstick, bone-in, skin removed.) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, skimming the soup every so often. When meat is cooked, remove chicken legs, shred meat, and return to pot.

Add cooked quinoa, a handful of fresh spinach, and more mustard and lemon juice (and zest, if you'd like) to taste.

It's Not About the Salmon

...it's about the quinoa pilaf in this picture. The salmon is just a simple marinade of tamari, honey, shallots, five spice and rice wine vinegar. I may have added a few more ingredients, but I don't remember. You can't screw it up.

Anyway, the quinoa takes the cake! While I toasted a handful of organic pine nuts, I sauteed shallots, red onion, shiitake mushrooms and hit it with a bit of garlic and white wine. I removed it from the heat and threw in the nuts and flipped it a few times to combine. I added the wonderful mixture to quinoa that was cooking in organic free range chicken broth about 5-7 minutes before it was finished cooking. If my 20 month old son screamed for more quinoa pilaf and Jesse, Maximus and I ate about 6 servings of it, you know it's a winner. I'm sorry I never measure anything. I'm trying.

Open and DIVE IN!

Don't open it, I'm kidding. This is the most disgusting thing on the planet.

Limited Resources

I've had a difficult time finding certain kinds of sausage here in Lincoln. I don't know why most stores only sell breakfast sausages and brats. Ew. Anyway, I managed to locate some Smart Chicken sausage the other day. I removed it from it's casing and created spicy chicken sausage with fire roasted tomato, portobello and garlic sauce over whole wheat bucatini. It was divine. Spicy, sweet and balanced. And who knew Target sold whole wheat bucatini?! I found it on the end of an isle on clearance and grabbed it.

And finally...at last...I got my hands on some whole wheat panko. I don't know why whole wheat anything is hard to find.

Boo!

Relax, they're just organic banana bran skull muffins with dark chocolate features.

Tuna Casserole

Tuna casserole is a guilty pleasure of mine. It's one of the dumbest things to make, but I could eat the entire casserole in one sitting. It's one of my favorite things my mom would make me as a kid. I've taken her recipe and added my twists to make it a teeny bit healthier:

8oz whole wheat egg noodles (cooked)
2 cans of tuna
1 can organic cream of mushroom soup (use Amy's semi condensed-the flavor is richer)
Splash of organic milk
1 small package organic peas (cooked)
Potato chips

Spray a casserole dish. Dilute the mushroom soup with a bit of milk, but keep it thick. Put the noodles, tuna, peas, soup and crushed potato chips in single layers, ending with the chips on top. Dot with Smart Balance Light and bake for 45 minutes to an hour in a 350 degree oven.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan)

I had this laying around and wanted to use it...
so I threw it into a batch of vegan cookies that kicked ass! Try it before you nay-say it. Jesse was blown away!

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tbsp baking soda
dash of sea salt
1 1/2 cups evaporated cane sugar
1 1/4 cups refined coconut oil
1/4 cup ice water
1 tbsp molasses
1/2 tablespoon organic pure vanilla extract
1 package vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 175 and line baking sheets with parchment.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar and coconut oil until creamy. (I used medium, maybe 2-3 minutes) Add the water, molasses and vanilla and mix well. On low, add the flour mixture in 3-4 additions, mixing each addition until almost fully incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and mix by hand until they're really in there.

Arrange 2-tablespoon sized balls of the dough 2 inches apart on the sheets.
Bake about 15 minutes and after cooling, each enough to make yourself sick.

The McGangBang

A McChicken sandwich inside a double cheeseburger.

Would someone actually eat this?!

Type Brighter: You know how Mcdonalds sometimes gets criticized for trying to hide the fact that their food is unhealthy (pretty much the basis for the movie Supersize Me). Well that's bullshit! People just need to learn to read properly. Here is a pic that is found on all the burger packages.
It's what i eat and what i do. The pic shows Ronald McDonald recklessly walking on what appears to be a construction beam (we can only assume many many stories in the air). I think the message is pretty clear what he eats and what he does is dangerous. Hahaha!

French Onion Soup

I posted this on my other blog quite some time ago, but I'm making it again today and thought I'd share. I'm making it only with my 5 pound bag or organic red onions I have laying around.

I made french onion soup last night. It turned out so well that Jesse lowered his head closer to the bowl and made an odd humming noise while he ate it. We had the soup with steak, crab stuffed mushrooms and steamed vegetables. If it's chilly outside, make this recipe. It's an easy version and it doesn't take all day to make.

French Onion Soup (an easy version):

1 clove garlic

2 organic shallots

1 organic Spanish onion

1 organic red onion

2 organic leeks

2 tablespoons Smart Balance Light

3 turns of the pot organic extra virgin olive oil

dash of sea salt

3 tablespoons organic whole wheat pastry flour

4-5 cups organic beef stock

freshly ground pepper

2 big pinches of Asiago cheese

1 small cube of Gruyere cheese

a pinch of Jarlsberg cheese

2 slices of french bread or pumpernickel

Finely chop garlic with shallots. Slice onions almost into julienne. Finely slice leeks and mix all together and put aside.

Heat butter and olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion mixture and stir to coat with butter and olive oil. Lower the heat, cover loosely and allow the onions to cook over low heat for 10-12 minutes to soften. Add the salt and stir to combine and cook the onion mixture over low heat for 25-35 minutes to caramelize, stirring every 4-5 minutes. The onions should become the color of toffee. Sprinkle with the flour. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring. While stirring, add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, loosely covered, for about 30 minutes. Add pepper and taste and adjust seasonings.

While the soup is cooking, grate the Asiago, Jarlsberg (or Parmesan) and Gruyere. Put aside.

Slice the bread and brush with olive oil and rub with a crushed glove of garlic. Toast in a 400 degree oven until golden and crispy.

Serve the soup in warmed bowls topped with a slice of toasted bread and a sprinkling of the cheese blend. Place the bowls under the broiler until cheese has melted over the sides and is bubbly.

And the BEST beverage to enjoy with this...1554 by New Belgium. It's one of my favorite beers and it pairs well with flavors like the soup.

Spinach Pesto with Shrimp

This one goes out to Teri Dorman!

1 cup loosely packed spinach (fresh)
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 cloves garlic

1 pound organic shrimp, tails off and de-veined
nearly an entire box of organic whole wheat angel hair pasta (Get the Full Circle brand)

Toast the pine nuts in a small saute pan for a few minutes, until fragrant. Combine spinach, nuts and garlic into a food processor and process until finely chopped. Stream in 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil until well blended. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Coat shrimp with olive oil and salt and pepper. Saute over near high heat until cooked, about 2-3 minutes.
Toss with freshly sauteed shrimp with enough pesto to coat. Add to a bowl of hot whole wheat organic angel hair pasta to coat each strand. Eat the entire dish. It's really that good. If Maximus eats it, you know it's a winner.

Spicy Chicken Lo Mein Satay

Jesse wanted something different last night. He wanted something that he usually "splurges" with, so I made him spicy chicken lo mein satay. I searched for organic whole wheat lo mein noodles for a while and finally found them. Like I've said before, I will not buy products made with enriched white flour. And these noodles tasted great! So light that I checked the back of the package a few times.

I whisked together:
3 tbsp organic soy sauce
2 tbsp organic rice vinegar
dash organic red pepper flakes
1 packet of Splenda
1/2 organic spicy satay sauce (I used Annie Chun's Thai Peanut all natural sauce)
1 tbsp organic sesame oil
a bit of fresh ginger (peeled and grated)
about 1/2 cup free range organic chicken broth
chopped organic scallion

I sauteed thin strips of chicken in extra virgin olive oil until browned. Don't saute in sesame oil! It burns quickly and is used as a flavoring. I cooked the noodles for about 3 minutes, then drained and rinsed them. I added the sauce to the chicken and simmered for the amount of time it took me to set the table and make thin cucumber strips. (used as garnish) Grab a large serving bowl, place the noodles in first and top with the chicken mixture. Gently toss. Eat. Next time, I'll add the scallions in last. I wasn't thinking when I actually cooked them.

The Best Salad Dressing I've Ever Had

I created the perfect balance of flavors! Here's what I piled into my food processor:
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup Italian red wine vinegar
2 large cloves of minced garlic
Sea salt
Freshly cracked pepper
...then I streamed in extra virgin olive oil. I probably used close to 2/3 cup.

*remember, I'm trying to write down measurements, so this is pretty close.

Clam Chowder

"Holy moly!! Your recipe was perfect and it totally hit the spot! I did change the half and half to 2% milk just to cut it down a little but everyone loved it (family reunion time right now so I had to make triple batches) so it was reviewed by about twenty-five Moseleys and they all loved it!! you are a life saver!!!"

-Katy Mosely Eugene, OR


The clam chowder recipe I used while working at The Oyster Bar, with a few adjustments:

(Serves 12)

Ingredients:
1 cup organic potatoes, diced ½ inch (russet or reds)
1 cup organic celery, diced ½ inch
1 cup organic yellow onion, diced ½ inch
1 cup organic green pepper, diced ½ inch
1 cup leeks, diced ½ inch
¾ cup organic chopped clams (try to get fresh, even if you have to order them online)
¾ tablespoon organic coarse ground black pepper
1 ½ tablespoon organic Italian sea salt
¾ tablespoon whole fresh organic thyme
6 organic bay leaves
1 teaspoon Tabasco
¾ cup sherry wine (optional) and it MUST be a kind you'd drink, so don't get the cheap stuff.
2 cups water
¾ cup clam juice (you have to purchase this separately from where you buy your clams)
¾ cup butter, melted OR Smart Balance Light
1 cup whole wheat or 12 grain PASTRY flour. Don't use non-pastry flour because you'll end up with wheat chunks!
2 quarts organic half-and-half

Method:
Combine melted butter and flour in oven-proof container and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. In large saucepan, combine remaining ingredients except half-and-half. Simmer until potatoes are thoroughly cooked. Stir butter-flour mixture into chowder and stir until thick. Mixture will be slightly less thick than cookie dough. Remove chowder from heat. Stir in half-and-half until blended. Heat to serving temperature, stirring occasionally.

Serve immediately.

Weekend Salad

I make this salad once a week, usually on Fridays. The longer it sits, the better the flavors incorporate. It's really easy and it's good for you.

Organic whole wheat pasta (cooked and cooled, about half a package)
3/4 red onion, sliced thin
2 cans organic medium sized artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
palm of organic capers
handful of pitted kalamata olives
8-10 organic sun dried tomatoes, sliced (you have to add these-they make the salad sweet)
2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp and a dash more of Italian red wine vinegar
2 cloves of garlic run through a press
lemon juice of one lemon

Instructions: mix everything in the same bowl. Cover and refrigerate for as long as possible. I told you it was easy.

Lemon "Cheesecake"

I'll be honest, I don't measure ingredients even when I bake. I'm trying to remember how much went into this one, but try it! It's surprisingly delicious and you won't believe it's low fat and almost sugar free.

Crust:
10 organic graham crackers, reduced sugar
1/4 cup of melted Smart Balance Light

Process the crackers in a food processor for a bit and stream in the melted Smart Balance. Line a glass pie dish with the crust and blind bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Let it sit out until it's cooled, the refrigerate until chilled.

Filling:
1 cup organic fat free sour cream
3/4 cup organic low fat ricotta cheese
1/4 cup organic neufchatel cheese at room temperature the other cheeses do not need to be at room temp.
a dash of organic vanilla extract
another dash of organic lemon extract
fresh lemon peel
a couple drops of the lemon juice
1 small packet of organic instant sugar free lemon pudding mix. it's hard to find, but it's out there.

Process the cheeses first until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until well incorporated. Pour into your prepared pie dish and refrigerate for a couple hours until firm. It's best if it sits overnight.