Lemon Chicken

I have had some pretty delicious and unhealthy lemon chicken in my day, but here is a healthier alternative! This is a pretty easy and healthy recipe that I got from Danny's mom.

Ingredients:
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 lb. fresh spinach, washed
4-6 cups prepared rice
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 lemons, to cut up and garnish

1. Boil chicken until thoroughly cooked, then drain and cut into small cubes. Steam spinach as flat leaves until darker and wilted, but not too soggy.
2. In saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and broth and cook until thick and opaque, stirring continually with a whisk. Take off heat and add soy sauce and lemon juice.
3. Place hot rice on a platter. Spread spinach over the rice. Place chicken on the spinach, then pour the lemon sauce over it all. Garnish with lemon slices.

Additional hint: This meal can be pretty quick as you can do multiple steps at once. Get the rice cooking, then put the chicken on the stove to boil. In the meantime you can begin steaming the spinach and making the sauce, so that most things get done right around the same time and you can throw it all together!

Skewered Tomato Chicken

This recipe is fast, easy, healthy, and one of Danny's all time favorites! I like it also, although perhaps am not quite as obsessed as Danny. :) It is from a healthy recipes book I think a few of you have as well.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 lb. 2 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp clear honey
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
9 oz cherry tomatoes
freshly cooked couscous or rice, to serve
fresh rosemary sprigs to garnish (if desired)

1. Preheat the broiler to medium. Using a sharp knife, cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks and place in bowl.
2. Mix the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, honey, and chopped rosemary together in a separate bowl. Add the chicken, stirring to coat evenly.
3. Thread the chicken pieces and cherry tomatoes alternately onto 8 presoaked wooden skewers, then spoon over the remaining glaze.
4. Cook the skewers under the hot broiler for 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through. Serve immediately on a bed of couscous or rice, garnished with rosemary sprigs.

Also, have any of you decided that you really dislike having to open a can of tomato paste for just a few tablespoons in a recipe, and then you don't end up using the rest in time? I definitely did! BUT I discovered a trick I quite like! After you open a can of tomato paste and don't finish it for a recipe, put the remaining paste in an ice cube tray, with 1 tbsp. in each compartment. Freeze them, and whoalah! You have pre-prepared 1 tbsp. amounts of tomato paste to be used in future recipes as needed!

Fresh English Pea Salad

This is Mike's favorite salad. Fresh and delicious. I also used the pea, olive oil, mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper idea tonight and added it to penne. Presto! Fresh English Pea Pasta.

2 cups water
1 cup shelled green peas (about one pound unshelled)-we use frozen
6 cups trimmed arugula-we used mixed greens
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
½ cup (2 ounces) shaved fresh pecorino romano cheese- we have used parmesan, but both are yummy

1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add peas; cook 1 minute. Drian, plunge peas into ice water; drain
2. Combine peas, arugula, and mint in a large bowl. Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper; toss well. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately.
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup salad, and 1 tablespoon cheese)

Nutritional Information
Calories 90 (40% from fat); Fat 4 g (sat 1.3 g, mono 1.4g, poly 0.2g) Protein 5.6g; Carb 9.1g, Fiber 3.3g, chol 6mg; iron 1.1mg, Sodium 342 mg, calc 107mg

Orange Crunch Cake

I think Beans has a variation of this recipe too. If so, post it!

Ingredients:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup butter, softened

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 tablespoons grated orange zest

1 (16 ounce) can prepared vanilla frosting
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
3 tablespoons grated orange zest
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained (I have never used these)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch pans. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, walnuts and butter. Divide mixture evenly between the prepared pans. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cake mix, water, orange juice and oil until blended. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the orange zest. Pour the mixture evenly over the crunch layer in the pans.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely before frosting. Frost (crunch side up) between layers, on top and sides. Arrange orange sections on top, then refrigerate.
4. To make the frosting: In a medium bowl, beat the vanilla frosting until light and fluffy, then mix in the whipped topping. Stir in the orange and lemon zest. Use frosting on completely cooled cake layers.

Pineapple Pork Fried Rice

A delightfully sweet but spicy fried rice recipe! Next time you make a meal with rice, consider making extra and saving it for this. Thank you chowtimes for the similar picture!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
About 4 oz fresh pineapple, finely chopped
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 green chilies, seeded and chopped
8 oz lean pork, cut into small dice
Salt an pepper
4 oz cooked shelled prawns (we have made it without this both times
but I'm sure it would be even better with!)
3-4 cups cooked cold rice
2 oz roasted cashew nuts
2 spring onions, chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce (once again, we did without this because we didn't have it)
1 tbsp soy sauce
10-12 mint leaves, to garnish (also did w/o as we didn't have any)
2 red chilies, sliced, to garnish
1 green chili, sliced, to garnish

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the onion and chilies and fry for about 3-5 minutes, until softened.
2. Season the pork with salt and pepper, then add it to the pan and cook until it is brown on all sides. Stir in the prawns (if using them) and rice and toss well together. Continue to stir-fry until the rice is thoroughly heated.
3. Add the chopped pineapple, cashew nuts, and spring onions. Season with fish sauce and soy sauce. Garnish with shredded mint leaves and red and green chilies.

If serving this for company, consider hollowing out the pineapple shell halves and serving the rice from the shell, similar to the picture displayed. Very elegant! :)

Delicious Four Cheese and Tomato Pizza

So Good! And you can create so many yummy variations of this pizza changing toppings, cheeses, sauces, etc. I've included some of the things I have tried with it and loved below.

Yields: 2 12 inch pizzas
Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
8 roma tomatoes, sliced (I used a little less and sliced them pretty thinly)
2 (12 inch) pre-baked pizza crusts (or your own)
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
4 ounces shredded fontina cheese
10 fresh basil leaves, washed, dried
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

1. Stir together olive oil, garlic and salt; toss with tomatoes, and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Brush each pizza crust with some of the tomato marinade. Sprinkle the pizzas evenly with mozzarella and fontina cheeses. Arrange tomatoes overtop, then sprinkle with shredded basil, parmesan, and feta cheese.
3. Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Variations: I have made a couple additions in the past that are also delicious. When we have had spinach I saute the spinach in a little olive oil and garlic and add that between the cheese layers. I've also added cappers to the toppings. Also, I have brushed pesto sauce on the crust as the base rather than the olive oil marinade, although I think I still like the marinade version a little better. And you can obviously change up the cheeses and their amounts depending on what is cheaper, what you have, and what you like. I don't think we've used the fontina because it was more expensive, and it still has been delicious!

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

We absolutely love this pizza. I have just bought prepared crusts in the past because it is fast and I still haven't found a recipe I particularly like. If anyone has a recipe or brand of pizza crust that you like, please, please, please post it or let me know!

Ingredients:

1 pizza crust
1/2 c. barbecue sauce (Danny likes it saucey, so we use more)
2 tbsp. barbecue sauce (additional)
1-2 grilled chicken breasts, shredded
¼ red onion, very thinly sliced
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese, or half mozzarella, half smoked gouda or Monterrey jack
2 Tbsp. Chopped cilantro

Delicious optional additions we have tried:
Sliced Roma tomatoes
1 green onion, sliced
Feta cheese (crumbled)

Preheat oven to 400. Mix the shredded chicken with the 2 tbsp. barbecue sauce until coated. Spread the 1/2 c. barbecue sauce on the pizza crust. Put half the cheese on the sauce, then add the chicken, onions, possibly tomatoes and green onions, and rest of the cheese (including feta if you are using it). Bake 10-12 minutes, then sprinkle with cilantro.