Sweet Love and Ginger

Chicken

My Healthy Back Pocket Meal

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Tuesday’s run had an almost overwhelming affect on me. For starters I hadn’t run in almost 6 months, and definitely not since we moved. We live just off a very busy road that I’m not entirely comfortable running down, but on google I found an old snowmobile trail that I could get to a side street on. So I took it, not entirely thinking about how wet and gross it would be, since it had after all rained all day, I was able to keep a good pace through the much and more that destroyed my shiny, still newish running shoes, and was out on the open road.

Then I wanted to DIE. I was coughing, and sneezing, and my nose was dripping like crazy, and of course I didn’t bring tissues. I looked at my phone and realized that I had barely ran a mile. My goal was 2.62 in honor of Boston. And I was going to run it even if it did in fact kill me. So I switched the ipod to some skillet (your welcome) and pushed through it.

I made one stop at my turn around point to get my bearings and figure out how to get home then started off again, this time uphill (that was great). I did have to walk when I came back across the swamp, which I now noticed had a posted sign, whoops! I was mostly afraid for my sprain prone ankles and tired legs, but after getting out I jogged for the last .2 miles home, only of course to realize that I was short by .3 miles so I did a few laps on our little street in front of the house, I bet our neighbors think I’m crazy.

I’m honestly shocked by how well it all went. In the end I was fairly soaked, mud caked, and covered in snot (TMI? Sorry, it’s true my face was leaking like a faucet), but I could finally breath. After 3 days of congestion the run knocked it all out of me (Hell yeah), and this morning I only felt a slight twinge of discomfort going down the stairs, so my legs didnt even mind the shock. I know that a half hour for 2.62 miles is friggin awful, but hell I feel good about it, I actually
feel great about it.

I’m proud of my run, that I pushed myself when I really didn’t want to. I did it for something other than myself, for something bigger than me. For Boston.

Post run I was not in the mood for cooking so I pulled out one my super lazy day, back pocket meals.

Clean Sausage & Bean Stew

This one is one of my favorites because not only is it super quick and easy, but it’s clean and there is always leftovers, because lazy days sometimes last for more than one day. I also really like it because unless there is a vegetarian in the house nearly everyone likes it, so you can’t go wrong. This meal can be made in one pan, it can easily be multiplied for more people, or halved for fewer; and the flavor profile can easily be changed by simply changing the type of sausage. This is why I have voted it one of my favorite back pocket meals.

Tomato, Sausage & Bean Stew
Author: JC
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 lb precooked chicken sausage, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 ( 15 ounce) cans unsalted cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can diced tomatoes, with juices
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 8oz can tomato paste
  • 1 large bunch fresh spinach (5-6 oz)
  • Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a large skillet heat 1 tbs of oil and cook sausages on medium high heat, until they begin to brown, 2- 3 minutes.
  2. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.
  3. Stir in the beans, tomatoes water and tomato paste until well blended. Cook, stirring occasionally for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
  4. Gently fold in spinach and allow it to wilt.
  5. Adjust seasoning and serve warm.
Note: I have been known to on very lazy days to skip the onion and garlic altogether and just toss in a can of low sodium tomatoes with onion and garlic added already. It really just depends on my mood.

 

For another version of this that’s similarly easy, but with 1 or 2 extra steps to change it up I will skip the beans and put it over pasta, much like this recipe from Clean Eating Magazine.

Chicken Paillards with Asparagus Gruyere

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Chicken, Vegetables, and cheese make up this meal and what a
wonderful one it is. The crispness of the asparagus, in the creamy sauce, and
melted cheese, all on top of a tender piece of chicken; just imagine it! I
really like this meal and how surprisingly easy it was for the complexity of
the tastes that it provides.

Chicken Paillards Asparagus
Gruyere (serves 4)

4 chicken prepared chicken Paillards
¼ cup all purpose flour

1 tsp salt & pepper (each)

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 shallot sliced thin

½ cup white wine

2/3 cup low sodium chicken broth

1 lb asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces

¼ cup reduced fat sour cream

2 tsp lemon juice

2/3 cup fresh grated Gruyere Cheese

Sift together flour with salt and pepper, and dredge the
chicken in the mixture, shaking off any excess. Place in a large skillet that
has been heated to medium-high heat and coated with oil. Cook for roughly 3-4
minutes per side, or until golden brown and just cooked through. Remove from
heat and set aside. Add shallots to the pan and cook for roughly 1 minute, add
2 tsp from the leftover chicken dredging mixture stirring well to blend. Add
wine, broth and asparagus to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the
asparagus begins to get tender, and wine reduces. Continue to stir will adding
broth to the pan and allow the mixture to thicken. Reduce heat to low and stir
in sour cream, and lemon juice. Return the chicken to the pan and top with
grated cheese. Cover and continue to cook until the cheese has melted. Serve
warm.

For instructions on how to prepare chicken pillards check
out this post.

 

Filed Under: Recipe Tagged With:

How to Prepare Chicken Paillards & a Recipe

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Don’t let the fancy-pants name scare you paillards are a simple
cut of chicken that is pounded flat, that’s all. You can make them in your own
kitchen using boneless, skinless chicken breast.

I have been doing this for years and never knew that I was
so fancy-shmancy. I like them because the chicken breasts that are typically
available in the stores are way larger than a single portion should be, so
cutting the paillards allows for smaller portions, while giving the impression
of large portions. I also really like the tenderness of the chicken once it is
pounded flat besides, plus it’s useful for making the meat more malleable when
you want to roll it. Another bonus is that when it’s thinner it will cook
faster without getting dry. See how useful?

How to prepare a Chicken Paillard:

1. 
Lay a boneless, skinless chicken breast skin
side up on a cutting board

2.  Place your hand on top, and very carefully slice
the chicken horizontally, almost reaching the other side.

3.  Flip the chicken open like a book.            

a.  You can leave the large piece of chicken like
this or continue the cut to that you have two separate pieces

4. 
Lay the chicken flat and place a piece of
plastic over the top.

5.  With the smooth side of a mallet begin pounding
the chicken from the center outward until it is roughly ½ to ¼ inches thick.

Note: if you don’t have a mallet like me, the bottom of a
coffee cup kinda-sorta works as well.


Clean Lemon Shallot Chicken
Paillards

2 tbs
whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp
each of salt & pepper

2
prepared chicken paillards

2 tbs
olive oil

2 tbs
organic, unsalted butter

3
shallots, chopped finely

1
lemon, juiced

1 tsp
fresh lemon zest

1/2
cup chicken broth

Salt
and Pepper to taste

Sift
together salt, pepper, and flour and dust the paillards with this mixture. In a
large skillet heat 1 tbsp of oil, add chicken and cook for 2 -3 minutes per
side, or until browned lightly and cooked through. Remove from pan and set
aside. In the same skillet melt 1 tbs of butter and 1 tbs of oil, and saute
shallots until softened, 4-5 minutes. Add lemon juice, zest, broth and bring to
a boil. Continue to stir often, scraping the bottom of the pan for browned
bits. Once the liquid has reduced by half add the remaining butter. Return the
chicken to the pan to warm and serve warm.(Serves 2)

D4One: Sherry Mushroom Chicken

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I know you have heard me say that I don’t like mushrooms,
but it’s like Momma Chuck says “you have to try something 17 times to know for
sure if you don’t like it”, so I’m still trying them; lately with success.
On our recent trip to NYC for my birthday we went to Butter Restaurant. Inside this
wonderfully chic and intoxicating establishment I ordered homemade ravioli that
came with mushrooms, parsley and pecorino cheese. And let me tell you it was
fabulous! I ate everything on the plate, and like an Italian would I used the
table bread to scoop up the last little bits of goodness. Now I’m on a mission
to try more mushrooms, starting with this recipe.
I was browsing through some chicken and mushroom recipes and
came across this one about a million times, so my guess is that everyone knows
about it, and it’s some sort of classic somewhere, but I had never heard of it,
probably due to my past mushroom aversion. Any-who I decided that since I like Sherry Butter Sauce so much on
its own, that this one was probably a good recipe to start with and surprise,
surprise it was.
Sherry Mushroom
Chicken & Egg Noodles
1 tbs Oil
1 chicken breast, pounded thin
1 tbs organic unsalted butter
1 small shallot, chopped
1 (8 oz) package mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup sherry vinegar
¼ chicken broth
1-2 cups egg noodles, cooked according to package directions
Salt & Pepper to taste
Chopped parsley for garnish

In a large skillet heat oil over medium high heat, cook add
chicken and cook for 3-5 minutes flipping once, until all sides are golden and
chicken is cooked through. Set aside. In the same pan add shallot butter and
mushrooms. Sauté until the shallot and mushrooms become soft, roughly 2-3
minutes. Deglaze with sherry, and broth and cook until thickened add parsley,
and noodles, tossing to coat. Add chicken to warm and adjust seasoning. Serve.

D4One: Sausage & Bean Stew

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This is my cleaned up take on a Spanish classic. Typically in Spain
chorizo would be used, but I chose to go with garlic and spinach chicken
sausage, you could also use Italian sausage if you wanted as well, giving you
lots of choices. It can also very easily be multiplied for a large family, and
because it is so easy my bet is that you will be making it a lot.  I even had it leftover cold and it was delicious, so this is a good one to have for the summer months as well. Please give it a shot.

Sausage & Bean Stew

1 tbs olive oil

½ lb turkey sausage links

1 small onion, sliced thin

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp thyme

1 can cannellini beans, rinsed

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 cups fresh baby spinach

Add half the oil to a large skillet over medium heat, and add sausage.
Cook sausage, turning occasionally until cooked through, roughly 10-15 minutes,
then set aside. Reduce heat to medium, and sauté onion, garlic and thyme until
softened, roughly 5 minutes. Add the beans and broth and cook for about 10
minutes. Add spinach and cook until it just begins to wilt. Slice sausage into
bite size pieces, and stir into stew. Remove stew from heat and serve in bowls,
warm.