Recipe: Pressed Chicken Breasts with Squash and Tomatoes

I’ve been on a healthy food kick lately – which is a good thing. My boyfriend has lymphoedema, so he has to have an extremely low fat diet. He has challenged me recently to cook very low fat recipes that still have a lot of flavor – as if I couldn’t! Ha! Turns out, we’re eating better than we ever have AND we’re sticking to the low fat diet.

I’ve never cooked pressed chicken before, and I have no idea why because this is a really great way to cook chicken. Often when I cook chicken breasts in a skillet on the stove, it splatters all over the place. This cooking style avoids all of the splatter and it cooks the chicken evenly while adding a nice crust without having skin.

Here’s another healthy and low fat recipe that is full of flavor.

Pressed Chicken Breasts with Squash and Tomatoes
Makes: 6 servings
Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless hormone-free chicken breasts (about 4-6 ounces each)
2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 package cherry tomatoes, halved
3 medium yellow squash
zest from half a lemon
3 T chopped fresh marjoram or thyme

Directions
1. Cut out a circle of parchment paper that will cover a large skillet.

2. Heat 1 T oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle one side of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Add chicken breasts to the pan seasoned side down. Sprinkle the tops of the chicken with salt and pepper. Cover with parchment paper, then top with another heavy skillet (like a cast iron pan), and top with about 2 pounds of weight (broth cans work well).

3. Cook chicken breasts for about 8 minutes on first side, then turn. Place parchment paper, skillet and weights on chicken again. Cook for another 8 minutes or until done.

4. When chicken is fully cooked, remove from the pan and keep warm. You can either put them in a 200 degree F oven, or put them on a plate and cover with foil.

5. Heat the remaining 1 T olive oil in the same pan that you just removed the chicken from. When hot, add garlic, tomatoes, squash, lemon zest, and 2 T marjoram. Saute for about 4 to 5 minutes or until soft. Toss with remaining 1 T marjoram and pour over chicken breasts.

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

Recipe: Strawberry Citrus Salad

The latest issue of Bon Appetit magazine has a ton of great recipes in it, and this Strawberry Citrus Salad caught my eye and I just had to try it. It…is…AMAZING.

Talk about simple food being the best: this recipe has only 4 ingredients and it is packed with flavor. I think this would be pretty good over ice cream too…but I’m just sayin. Plus – it’s a super healthy salad.

Strawberry Citrus Salad
from Bon Appetit May 2009

Makes: enough for a small gathering (8-10 servings or so)
Time: 15 minutes prep + 30 minutes to marinade

Ingredients
2 packages strawberries, washed, cored and quartered
3 large navel oranges, segmented and cut into large chunks
3 T fresh chopped mint
1 T brown sugar

Combine everything together in a bowl, and let it sit for about 30 minutes to marinate and get mascerated goodness. I enjoy this salad by itself or as a simple dessert. In fact, it’s really good after a plate of fried eggs and turkey bacon.

This is a perfect side dish to Garlicky Green Turkey Burgers and Chili Lime Grilled Corn on the Cob for a complete quick and easy grilling meal.

One Pot Moroccan Chicken Stew – Healthy Recipe

I’m on a budget. There, I said it. I have been for some time now, but now I’m actually paying attention to it. And it starts with food and cooking. I have so much stuff in my cupboards and refrigerator that I really should cook up things I already have instead of rushing out to the store to buy a whole bag of groceries for one dish that I’m dieing to make.

So last night I was rifling through some CSA veggies and trying to figure out what to do with a lot of stuff I have on hand. The list was fairly random: potatoes, winter squash, parsnips, dried cherries, beets, carrots, garlic, and on and on.

What I found out was I don’t have to sacrifice flavor or quality when making a dinner from what I have on hand. I did end up making a trip to the grocery store but only to pick up 3 items: chicken, onions (which were on sale yay!), and canned tomatoes.

This recipe is fairly easy and dinner can be on the table in under 60 minutes – and it’s all in one pot so clean up is super easy. You can vary the spices if you want, and I might even try adding a little vanilla bean next time since I have some in my pantry, but we’ll see since I rarely make the same dish twice.

I also thought this would only make 2 servings, but it made quite a bit more than I expected and easily serves 4. Round it out with a green salad for a complete meal, but to be honest there’s enough veggies in here that you’ll get plenty of vitamins.

The best thing about this is that you can vary this depending upon what kind of veggies you have around – root veggies would work the best since they can stew for awhile. And the chicken stays nice and tender. Oh, and it’s very healthy! It’s only 3 Weight Watchers points per serving.

One Pot Moroccan Chicken
Serves 4
Time: under 60 minutes

1 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, cut in half then sliced
1/2 pound organic skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into strips
1 t chopped fresh thyme
1 t ground cumin
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 large potato, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)- I used purple Peruvian potatoes and the color was just amazing
1 small (bordering on teeny) winter squash, peeled, seeded and diced (about 1 cup) – I used Delicata and left the skin on
1/4 cup dried cherries
14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
2 cardamom pods
2 whole cloves
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat 1 T oil over medium heat in large deep skillet. TIP: if you use stainless cookware, remember “hot pan, cold oil” to keep food from sticking to the pan – heat your pan and when you’re ready to start cooking, add the oil then immediately add the food. It works really well.

2. Combine 1 t fresh thyme, 1 t cumin, 1/2 t salt and 1/2 t pepper. Coat the chicken with this mixture.

3. Add 2 cloves minced garlic and 1 small sliced onion to the oil in the pan. Saute for 1 – 2 minutes or until starting to soften. Move the onion and garlic mixture to the side of the pan and add the chicken to brown it, turning once and cooking about 2 minutes on each side.

4. Add the squash, cherries, potatoes, tomatoes, broth, cardamom and cloves to the pot, combine. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until veggies are tender and chicken is cooked through.

Serve with rice. A new thing I tried for cooking rice and really like was instead of using water, I made African Rooibus tea and cooked my basmati rice in that. It added a lot of flavor and was quite delicious. Just heat 2 cups of water, add 2 teabags and let steep for 3-5 minutes. Then add 1 cup basmati rice and cook like normal.

Basque Chicken Ragout with Sausages & Sweet Peppers

Last night I just couldn’t decide what to make. I didn’t have much in the fridge, so I knew I’d have to go to the store regardless. Then I found this little ditty in the Jimtown Store Cookbook (my FAVORITE cookbook). And I knew right away it was a “make-again” recipe. It’s perfect for a chilly night – comforting, easy to make, a tad spicy. And this is a one-pot dish, making clean up a breeze.

It calls for 6 cups of Jimtown All-Purpose Shredded Roast Chicken (another recipe in the book) but instead I bought a ready to eat rotisserie chicken. Saved lots of time and it was still delicious. I also cut the recipe in half since I was just feeding myself. But leftovers are great!

The cookbook suggests serving this with rustic, crusty bread and a green salad tossed with vinaigrette and Basque smoked sheep’s milk cheese called Idiazabal. I bought a sheep’s milk cheese that is similar to manchego and it was quite good. Also, suggested to have this with chilled hard cider (it’s gooood). Instead of crusty bread, I served this with rice.

Basque Chicken Ragout with Sausages & Sweet Peppers
serves 8
total time: about 35-40 minutes

1/4 cup fruity, good-quality Spanish olive oil
1 pound cooked spicy sausage, such as Spanish chorizo or andouille (cut on the diagonal into 1/4 inch slices or if ground, simply left ground)
1 medium-large yellow onion, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 1/2 pounds (6 to 8 ) large sweet peppers, mix of red and yellow, stemmed, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch wide strips
1 cup dry white wine (or substitute chicken broth)
1 (28-oz) can plum tomatoes with their juices
Kosher salt
2 t hot Spanish pimenton or Hungarian paprika
1 t freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t sugar
6 cups Jimtown All-Purpose Shredded Roast Chicken (or 1 ready-to-eat rotisserie chicken)
2 T finely chopped flat-leaf parsley.

Directions

1. In a large deep skillet, over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the sausage and cook, stirring once or twice, until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove and reserve. Do not discard the oil or clean the skillet. While the sausage browns, cut up the onions, garlic and peppers.

2. Set the skillet over low heat. Add the oinon and garlic and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and are beginning to brown, about 10 minutes – make sure to watch them so they don’t burn (if your heat is too high, they will start to burn).

3. Add the peppers, raise the heat to high, and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the peppers begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Start shredding the chicken as the onions, garlic and peppers cook. Just pull off the bone and pull it apart with your fingers.

4. Stir in the wine and bring to a simmer, scraping the browned deposits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the tomatoes and their juice, thoroughly breaking the tomatoes up with the side of a metal spoon. Stir in 2 t salt, the pimenton, black pepper, and sugar, then the chicken and chorizo, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley. Adjust the seasoning.

*The ragout can be prepared up to one day ahead. Cool, cover, and refridgerate, rewarming it over low heat until steaming.

Grilled Chile Pineapple

This is another recipe from the weekend menu for the Creative Retreat.

Grilled Chile Pineapple
serves 8

1 whole pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced lengthwise into long sticks
1 T chili powder
1 T cayenne powder

Preheat grill to medium high.

Prepare pineapple by mixing the chili powder and cayenne together then rub onto pineapple. Grill for about 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through.

Israeli Couscous with Roasted Tomatoes and Olives

This might have been my favorite recipe out of the whole weekend of the Creative Retreat. It was SOOOO good. And no modifications needed from the original epicurious recipe. Even better.

Israeli Couscous with Roasted Tomatoes and Olives
from epicurious
serves 6

For roasted tomatoes and dressing
2 pt red grape or cherry tomatoes (1 1/2 lb)
3 large garlic cloves, left unpeeled
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For couscous
2 3/4 cups chicken broth (use vegetable broth if making vegetarian)
2 1/4 cups pearl (Israeli) couscous
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

Roast tomatoes and make dressing:
Preheat oven to 250°F.

Halve tomatoes through stem ends and arrange, cut sides up, in 1 layer in a large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pan. Add garlic to pan and roast in middle of oven until tomatoes are slightly shriveled around edges, about 1 hour. Cool in pan on a rack 30 minutes.

Peel garlic and purée with oil, water, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup roasted tomatoes in a blender until dressing is very smooth.

Make couscous:
Bring broth to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and stir in couscous, then simmer, uncovered, 6 minutes. Cover pan and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes.

Spread couscous in 1 layer on a baking sheet and cool 15 minutes.

Transfer couscous to a bowl and stir in remaining ingredients, dressing, roasted tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste.

Cooks’ note:
• Roasted tomatoes, dressing, and couscous can be made 1 day ahead and kept separately, covered and chilled. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.

Roasted Vegetables

This is another recipe from the weekend menu from the Creative Retreat.

Roasted Vegetables
serves 8

2 zucchini, medium sized
2 vidallia onions
2 red bell peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
2 T olive oil
2 t Herbes de Provence
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut all veggies into 1 inch pieces, roughly the same size so they cook the same. Toss in olive oil, herbes de provence, salt, and pepper.

Place in baking dish or on a jelly roll pan. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until tender.

Roasted Baby Red Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary

My mom has been making these potatoes for as long as i can remember, and they’re always delicious. This is another recipe from the weekend menu for our Creative Retreat.

Roasted Baby Red Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary
serves 4

1 1/2 # baby red potatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T chopped fresh rosemary
2 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Quarter the baby red potatoes and toss in the garlic, rosemary and olive oil. Prepare a baking sheet with tin foil (this will make clean up SO much easier). Place potatoes on baking sheet and roast for about 40-45 minutes. They will be done when they’re browning.

Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup

I didn’t make tortilla strips for this soup, but you could. The broken chips from the bottom of a tortilla bag work too and is very quick. This recipe is dairy free and gluten free and could easily be made vegetarian by omitting the chicken. I don’t usually make soup (due to past miserable failures) but this one turned out really well. And spicy, of course.

Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup
serves: 4
time: 35 minutes

1T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 serrano chile, minced (I use the seeds too because I like spicy – if you don’t like spicy, replace this with a jalapeno and remove the seeds before mincing)
1 Quart organic chicken broth
3/4 cup diced canned tomatoes with juices
1 chipotle chile canned in adobo minced + 1t sauce
1 bay leaf
1t cumin
1t dried oregano or 1T chopped fresh oregano
3/4# skinless, boneless organic chicken breasts
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup frozen corn
2 scallions, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
juice of 2 limes
salt & pepper to taste

In a medium (3-4 quart) sauce pan, heat 1 T oil over medium low. When hot, add the 2 cloves minced garlic and 1 minced serrano chile. Saute for about 1 minute.

Add 1 quart chicken broth, 3/4 cup tomatoes, 1 minced chipotle + sauce, 1 bay leaf, 1t cumin, and oregano. Raise heat to high, bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Add 3/4# chicken breasts, 1 can black beans, and 3/4 cup corn. Bring back to boil then simmer for 5-8 minutes covered until chicken is cooked through (covering will decrease cooking time and keep the moisture in the soup).

When chicken is cooked through, remove and shred with 2 forks. Place back in sauce pan. Add 2 chopped scallions, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, and juice of 2 limes. Stir to blend seasonings. Add salt & pepper if needed.

You can serve this with various toppings: sour cream, cheese, diced avocado, tortilla strips, etc. in any combination – as long as it’s something you like.