Parmesan Chicken

recipe adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/parmesan-chicken-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breast, pounded thin

1 cup flour

1 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Salt & Pepper

2 eggs

1 tablespoon water

Butter & EVOO

Mixed Salad Greens

Lemon Vinaigrette for salad

Directions

Combine the flour, salt, & pepper in one plate. Whisk eggs and 1 tablespoon of water together in another plate. Combine breadcrumbs and paremsan cheese in another plate. Coat chicken on both sides in the flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Heat 1 tablespoon evoo and 1 tablespoon butter in a large saute pan. Cook chicken 3-4 minutes per side, until chicken is cooked through. Add more butter and evoo if needed to finish the chicken. Toss the salad greens with vinaigrette. Place a mound of salad on top of the hot chicken and shave parmesan on top.

Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients

Juice of 2 lemons

1/2 cup evoo

Salt & Pepper

Directions

In a small bowl whisk together all the ingredients.

General Tso's Chicken

recipe from: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2012/04/16/general-tsos-chicken-recipe/

Ingredients

For the Marinade & Sauce:
½ cup hoisin sauce
¼ cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1½ cups water
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1½ pounds), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

For Coating & Frying:
3 egg whites
1½ cups cornstarch
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 cups vegetable oil
1-2 green onions, thinly sliced (garnish)

Directions

To make the marinade, whisk the hoisin sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, and water in a bowl. Of this mixture, place 6 tablespoons into a zip lock storage bag and add the chicken; seal and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Set aside the remaining marinade in the bowl. While the chicken is chilling in the marinade, heat the 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Sauté the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes until fragrant. Add 2 cups of the hoisin marinade to the skillet and simmer, whisking constantly, until the mixture is dark brown and thickened. Remove from heat, cover and keep the sauce warm. To prepare the chicken for coating and frying, whisk the egg whites in a shallow dish until foamy; set aside. Combine the cornstarch, flour, baking soda, and remaining hoisin marinade in a second shallow dish; mix until it resembles coarse meal. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and from the marinade. Pat the marinated chicken dry with paper towels. Toss half the chicken into the foamy egg whites until well coated, then dredge the chicken in the cornstarch mixture, pressing to adhere. Transfer the coated chicken to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat until the oil registers 350 degrees. Fry half the chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning each piece halfway through cooking. Transfer the cooked chicken onto a paper towel lined plate to drain. Return the oil to 350 degrees before frying again. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Warm the sauce over medium heat until simmering. Turn off the heat and add the fried chicken pieces. Toss to coat and serve.

Garlic Broccoli

Ingredients

1 head broccoli florets

3 garlic cloves, minced

EVOO

Salt & Pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. In a small casserole dish add broccoli, garlic, salt, pepper, and about 1-2 tablespoons of evoo. Bake until broccoli is tender, about 15 minutes.

Sesame Encrusted Baked Chicken with Chinese Salad

Sesame Chicken

recipe from: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/08/sesame-encrusted-baked-chicken-tenders.html

Ingredients

18 ounces chicken tenderloins

Salt & Pepper

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce

6 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

4 tablespoons panko

Olive oil spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 425. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick oil spray. Combine the sesame oil and soy sauce in a bowl, and the sesame seeds, salt, pepper, and panko in another bowl. Place chicken in the bowl with the sesame oil and soy sauce, then into the sesame seed mixture to coat well. Place on the baking sheet and lightly spray the top of the chicken with the olive oil spray. Bake 8-10 minutes. Turn over and cook another 4-5 minutes longer or until cooked through.

Chinese Salad

recipe adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/chinese-chicken-salad-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

1/2 head red cabbage, shredded

1/2 head napa cabbage, shredded

3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup sliced toasted almonds

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

2 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce

Directions

Put shredded red cabbage, napa cabbage, scallions, and cilantro in a large bowl. In another bowl place rice wine vinegar, garlic, ginger, canola oil, soy sauce, and chili-garlic sauce whisk until combined. Toss with salad and top with toasted almonds.

Mozzarella-Caprese Chicken

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts

1 ball fresh mozzarella, diced

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Bundle of fresh basil

4 garlic cloves

Dried Basil

Garlic Powder

Salt & Pepper

Balsamic Vinegar

EVOO

Directions

Slice chicken breasts in half and place into a zip lock bag. Chop 2 cloves of minced garlic and place into plastic bag. Chop a handful of fresh basil and place into bag. Sprinkle garlic powder, dried basil, salt & pepper into bag. Put about 2 tablespoons of evoo into bag. Zip bag and shake to distribute all ingredients. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Once done, grill chicken.

While chicken is grilling place halved grape tomatoes, diced mozzarella, 2 minced garlic cloves, about 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon of evoo, more diced fresh basil, salt & pepper into a bowl. Mix to combine and refrigerate until ready.

Once chicken is done cooking place onto a dish. Top with mozzarella-caprese salad and serve.

Healthy Stuffed Peppers

adapted from: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2005/04/stuffed-peppers-with-italian-sausage.html

Ingredients

6 red or green peppers, or a mixture of colors
1 pound extra lean ground beef

1 pkg.turkey Italian sausage

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced red pepper (tops of bell peppers)

3 garlic cloves, minced

4-5 button mushrooms, diced

4-6 tsp. olive oil for browning meat and veggies

Salt & Pepper

1 cup Marinara Sauce (homemade or store bought)

2 cups grated low fat mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F. Cut tops off peppers, making a deep enough cut that you have some pepper to chop for the filling. Square off the bottom of each pepper to make them stand up. (It's nice to have a small hole in the bottom so any extra fat can drain out, and cutting off the bottoms also accomplishes this.)  Clean out inside of peppers and wash if needed.  Choose a pan that will keep the peppers standing upright and spray with olive oil or nonstick spray.

In very large frying pan, heat a small amount of olive oil and cook chop meat until lightly browned. Put the browned meat in a colander or fine-mesh strainer,and let drain. In same frying pan, add a tiny amount of olive oil, squeeze turkey sausage out of links, and cook until lightly brown.  Add to hamburger in colander and drain.

Put a bit more olive oil to the pan and cook chopped peppers, onions, garlic, and button mushrooms for about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Turn off heat and add meat back to pan. Add 1 cup of marinara sauce and season mixture again with salt & pepper. Let mixture cool slightly, and then add 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese and almost all of the parmesan cheese (leaving extra to sprinkle on top). Stuff each pepper with mixture using a large spoon and pressing in tightly until you use all of the filling. Put more mozzarella and parmesan cheese on top of each pepper. Cover the dish loosely with foil, tenting it up so it doesn't touch the tops of the peppers.

Bake, covered with foil for about 30 minutes. Take off foil and bake another 20 minutes until cheese is melted completely and the top is slightly browned. Serve hot.

Avocado Chicken Salad

adapted from: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2012/05/recipe-for-chicken-and-avocado-salad.html

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chicken, diced

2 medium avocados, diced
Juice from 2 limes

Salt & Pepper

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons mayo

Directions

Dice the chicken into medium-size pieces. Dice the avocados into medium-sized pieces, mix juice from 1 lime and season avocado with salt and pepper.  Thinly slice the green onion and finely chop the cilantro.  Mix mayo and and the juice from the other lime, salt and pepper to make the dressing.

Put the chicken into a bowl large enough to hold all the salad ingredients.  Add the sliced green onions and dressing and toss until all the chicken is coated with dressing.  Add the avocado and any lime juice in the bottom of the bowl and gently combine with the chicken.  Then add the chopped cilantro and gently mix into the salad, just until it is barely combined. Serve right away or chill for a while before serving. 

Mediterranean Chicken Lettuce Wraps

adapted from: http://www.marthastewart.com/877005/mediterranean-chicken-lettuce-wrap-tacos

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips

2 tablespoons Mediterranean Spice (recipe to follow)

1/2 red onion sliced thin

Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe to follow)

Butter Lettuce

Tomatoes, diced

Crumbled Feta

Kalamata Olives

Directions

Preheat a grill. Season chicken with 2 tablespoons mediterranean spice and place on grill. Grill chicken until fully cooked and then set aside.

While chicken is cooking make balsamic vinaigrette. To serve tacos, place a leaf of butter lettuce onto a plate. Top with chicken, tomatoes, feta, red onions, and kalamata olives. Drizzle balsamic vinaigrette on top.

Mediterranean Spice

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon basil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Direcions

Combine all spices.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped shallots

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon sugar

Salt & Pepper

1/2 cup evoo

Directions

In medium bowl whisk all ingredients together, except for the evoo. Slowly add evoo to bowl whisking until combined. Season to taste.