Lemon Chicken with Olives

This recipe for Lemon Chicken with Olives is one of my standby "ready in 20" recipes that I know everyone will eat. It's easy and heartwarming. I got it from Real Simple years ago.

Well now that I'm officially Gluten Free, I'm having to adapt things to accommodate. And this particular recipe was even better without the gluten.

Ingredients I changed:

All-purpose flour

• I used Namaste Perfect Flour Blend instead. I also added a little Golden Flax Seed and Almond Meal hoping that would help give the chicken a little crisp. 

Chicken cutlets

• I buy whole chicken breasts and cut them down myself because I don't like to pay extra for someone to do that for me. You could easily use thighs and legs to keep it even cheaper.

Shallots

• I used onion. I sliced it thinly on my mandolin. Easy. 

Parsley

• I didn't have any, so I didn't use any. It was perfectly fine without!

The curious thing for me was that the gluten free flour didn't stick to the pan like wheat flour does, but it thickened the sauce perfectly and tasted so delicious. I served it with white rice because I had to make dinner fast. Obviously brown rice would be better, but I didn't have the time!

Marco agreed this was better than I've ever made it, and the kids all ate it up. Plus, I have leftovers for lunches for me!

It's Easy Being Green Enchiladas

1 large jar of green salsa (I used Safeway's Salsa Verde)
1/2 Cup Tahini
2 tsp Pork Soup Base (I used this because I didn't have chicken and pork tastes richer)
1 1/2 Cups water
4 Tb Canola Oil
2 Breasts of Chicken, cut into thin strips
5 Cups of fresh Spinach
1/2 lb Mushrooms (mine happen to be Crimini), sliced
10 Corn Tortillas
Mexican Crema or Sour Cream (optional)
Queso Fresco (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.
In a blender combine the salsa, tahini, water and soup base (you can use stock if you have it).  Puree until smooth.  In a large pot or sauce pan, heat 2 of the Tb of oil on high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the sauce all at once.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce begins to thicken.  You don't want it to be runny, but you don't want it to be as thick as ketchup.  Once it is done, set it aside.

Heat a large sauce pan heat up 2 Tb of the oil on medium high heat.  Brown the chicken and then set it aside.  Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for a couple minutes.  Add the onions and cook together until the onions are translucent and soft.  Add the spinach and the chicken.  Cook it all together until the spinach is wilted completely.

Meanwhile, put your tortillas into the microwave for 30 seconds to soften.  Most Mexican recipes call for frying these, but, with all the oil and tahini already in the recipes, I skipped the frying.  Coat the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish with sauce.  Then, one at a time, dip the tortillas in the sauce to coat.  Add a heaping spoonful of the filling and then roll, seam side down.  Fill the pan with the enchiladas, packing them together.

Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and then sprinkle with Queso Fresco.  Bake for 15 minutes.  When plating, drizzle each serving with crema.  I think I'll skip the cheese and cream for me...trying to cut out some fat.  :)

Back in Business!!

After weeks of illness circulating in our house, I am pleased to say that everyone is healthy and sleeping pretty well.  And, best of all, Mommy is food-inspired once again.  I've made a few great recipes recently, so I'm going to post those this afternoon.

Here's what's coming:

1. Sweet Potato Stew with Cranberries and Chicken
2. It's Easy Being Green Enchiladas
3. Beans and Rice
4. Spaghetti Squash with Lemon and Olives
5. Fish & Green Beans in Pipian Sauce
6. Garlic & Olive Hummus
7. Kale Smoothies

Check back later for recipes and tips! :)

Fish & Green Beans in Pipian Sauce

I adapted this recipe from a Rick Bayless recipe in his cookbook, Mexican Everyday.  I used more veggies and simplified the cooking just a bit.  I highly recommend his cookbook.  He makes cooking authentic Mexican food an easy thing to do on a week night.  He also gives great tips for using various ingredients and making vegetarian versions.  I have made many of the recipes from this cookbook!

Fish & Green Beans in Pipian Sauce

1 Jar of store-bought Green Salsa*
1 Cup Chicken Broth 
1 1/2 Tb Olive Oil
1 C Pepitas (green pumpkin seed kernels)**
Salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp sugar
2 Cups Green Beans or Peas (fresh or frozen)
Four 4 - 5 oz Skinless Fish Fillets (salmon, halibut, walleye, snapper or striped bass)
1/4 Cup Chopped Cilantro

In a blender or food processor, process the salsa, broth and pepitas until a smooth puree.  Heat the oil in a very large (12 inch) skillet over medium heat.  When it is quite hot, add the puree all at once.  Stir as the puree reduces and gets thicker, about 10 minutes.  Take care that the mixture doesn't stick.  If it seems coarse, process again in a lightly covered blender to smooth it out.  Taste and season with salt and sugar.  (The sugar will help balance the natural tartness of the salsa.)

While the sauce is simmering, pour the peas or green beans into a microwaveable bowl, sprinkle on a tablespoon of water, cover and heat on high until veggies are hot and tender.  Discard the water.  

When the sauce has simmered for 10 minutes, nestle the fish fillets in it, completely submerging them.  Continue simmering gently until the fish flakes when pressed firmly, usually 5 to 6 minutes for 1/2 inch thick fillets.  

Transfer a fish fillet to each dinner plate.  Spoon a portion of the sauce over the top.  Serve with the peas or green beans and cilantro.  Eat it up!  
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*Salsa Verde

You should be able to find this at a local grocery store.  I particularly like the Safeway brand Salsa Verde Medium, Herdez Salsa Verde and Frontera brand.  You can make a salsa verde using tomatillos.  I'll include a recipe for that in the next week.  You can make this recipe as hot as you like depending on the spiciness of the salsa.  You can also add more tomatillos to a hotter salsa to lessen the heat.  

**Pepitas

You can often find these at local Mexican grocery stores.  You can also order them online.  I found them at:

Nuts Online

Boxed Greens (organic)

Week Review - 9/26 - 10/02

This week was rough.  We've had sick kids and have now gotten sick ourselves.  Still, my people had to eat, so here's what I made them.  Looking back, I guess we ate pretty well.

Sunday
 
Marco and the kids ate these awesome uncured hot dogs from Whole Foods.  I no longer eat beef, so I ate salad with leftover chicken.  It was a super quick dinner after a long day.
 
Monday
 
Peanut Soup
 
I got inspired by an old friend to make peanut soup.  I've made a peanut soup before that had butternut squash and tomatoes.  What I made was not as good, but I have posted a few links to some great recipes and some tips on how to make it better!
 
Tuesday
 
Albondigas al Chipotle and Garlic Rice
 
I used a recipe from my Rick Bayless cookbook, Mexican Every Day.  I highly recommend this cookbook.  He has taken classic Mexican recipes and simplified them for people to make for weeknight dinners.  This was really easy.  The entire dinner, including the rice and salad took me 45 minutes.  I was able to use mostly produce from our garden, including the mint in the meatballs.  I find it hard to find ground pork, especially humane, hormone-free ground pork.  Fortunately, I found some at Whole Foods.
 

 
Wednesday
 
All hell broke loose on Wednesday.  The car was in the shop.  Marco was stuck in traffic.  It was pouring rain.  So, my people ate fish sticks and tomatoes.  Marco and I ate leftover peanut soup.
 
Thursday
 
Pasta with Potatoes and Broccoli

 
I found this recipe in Food Network Magazine that incorporated a bunch of stuff I had on hand.  I modified it to use a pasta that is easy for little fingers to pick up.  They have trouble with spaghetti.  Everyone loved this.  Well, the short people did avoid the broccoli.  But Marco and I really liked it.  I tried to keep it fairly low fat.  
 
Friday
 
We splurged and walked down to our little neighborhood Mexican restaurant, Fajita Coast.  It was so nice to relax.  I had some really good ceviche.
 
Saturday
 
Fun times were had at our neighbor's cookout.  I contributed grown up mac-n-cheese (with bacon, red onion and spinach) that was enjoyed by many.  The babies gobbled this up too!  I'm on a diet and could not partake, but I did sample it (seriously yummy).
 
Grown Up Mac-n-Cheese

Grown Up Mac-n-Cheese

Cheese Sauce:
3 C Havarti, grated
2 C milk
3 Tb butter
3/4 C flour


6 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
4 C spinach, roughly chopped
1 red onion, chopped finely
1 box of pasta (I always use whole wheat, I love the nutty texture)


Start your water for the pasta.  Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crispy.  Strain out the bacon, reserving the fat.  Cook the onions in the bacon fat until they are nice and soft and browning.  Set those aside.  Combine the butter with the remaining bacon fat.  


Cook the pasta according to the instructions.


Melt that over medium high heat, then add the flour.  Cook this, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes.  Careful not to let this burn.  After the 5 minutes, pour in the milk, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Cook at medium high for about 10 minutes until the mixture starts to thicken and loses its flour flavor.  Add the cheese and let it melt. 


Mix the cheese sauce, bacon, spinach, onion and pasta.  Salt to taste.  Eat it.  Get fat. 

Pasta with Broccoli and Potatoes

This is a reprint of a recipe I found in my Food Network Magazine (September 2010).  It's a great magazine with tons of amazing recipes!  Check it out!  I made some minor changes that are noted.


Kosher salt
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large bunch broccoli, florets and some chopped stems
12 oz pasta (I use only whole wheat pasta)
4 Tb unsalted butter (I did not use this)
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced into half-moons (I did not use this)
Freshly ground pepper
1 head Boston lettuce, torn (I used fresh spinach)
1 1/2 C grated fontina cheese (about 4 oz)
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese (about 1 oz)
(I used a total of 1 C of a cheese mix of parmesan, asiago and fontina)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the potatoes and cook 10 minutes, then add the broccoli and pasta and cook as the pasta label directs.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the leeks, 11/2 tsp salt and pepper to taste.  cook until soft, about 7 minutes.  (I did not do this)
3. Put the spinach in a colander.  Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid, then drain the pasta, broccoli and potatoes over the spinach to wilt it.  Return the pasta and vegetables to the pot.
4. Add the cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Babies rejected the broccoli and potatoes.  Maya cried.  Marco ate two helpings.  I struggled to only eat one helping.  It was really good.