Szechuan Lo Mein

Wow, it's been a while since I posted!  But, have no fear, anyone who reads this, as there is a 90 day challenge starting at the box on April 1, so expect lots of posts!

Todays meal was inspired by a recipe I found on Pinterest, thanks to Bill & Hayley over at Primal Palate.

I made a few changes/additions/substitutions to it and was pretty pleased with the results.  My recipe is below:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into thin strips
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1 8 ounce can of water chestnuts, sliced
• 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
• 1 8 ounce package baby Bella mushrooms, sliced 
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 cups broccoli (it's fine to use frozen broccoli, just make sure it's mostly thawed, it will cook up quicker)
• 3-4 cups of cabbage, sliced thinly
• Sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1-2 tablespoons tamari
• 2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce*
• 2-3 tablespoons gluten free szechuan sauce (use more or less depending on how hot you want it, 3 tablespoons was just about right for my liking)

Heat a wok (or large skillet if you don't have a wok) on high and add sesame oil and chicken.  Cook until it is almost cooked through.  

Add the broccoli, water chestnuts and mushrooms, cook another 3-5 minutes or until broccoli starts to get tender.

Add almonds, garlic, green onions, ginger and cabbage along with the fish sauce, tamari, chili garlic and szechuan sauce.  Stir everything together and cover, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, or until cabbage is soft.

Garnish with sesame seeds

Makes about 4 servings

*So I used a sweet chili garlic sauce at Trader Joes and one of the ingredients listed is sugar, so while this isn't a *true* paleo meal, I think it's close enough.  Besides, I couldn't find a non-sugar containing sauce and was too lazy to make my own.

Chicken with sundried tomatoes, olives and mushrooms

The other night I was supposed to have a Skpe dinner date with my primal eating buddy, Sarah, but work interfered and our dinner was postponed.  So this afternoon, after realizing I didn't have anything for lunch, I thought this was a perfect opportunity to make it.  The original recipe can be found here, my adaptation is below.

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
• 1/4-1/2 cup of sundried tomatoes, sliced thinly (I have a giant jar of marinated tomatoes from Costco, I just counted out 20 and used the liquid that came off of it as well)
• 1/4 cup of sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup of olives, sliced in half (I used pitted kalamata olives)
• 6 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1T dried basil
• 1T dried parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large baking dish (my big rectangular Pyrex dish fit the chicken perfectly) arrange the chicken.  Season with EVOO, salt, pepper, basil and parsley on both sides.  Top with the garlic slices and spread an even layer of the tomatoes, mushrooms and olives.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Serves 4-6

UPDATE:  Okay, so I just enjoyed a piece, and while it was pretty tasty, I feel like it was lacking a little flavor.  If you've got some artichoke hearts on hand, definitely toss those in the mix too. 

Chicken with balsamic citrus glaze

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3-4 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1 heaping tablespoon honey
• Pinch of ground allspice
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Dash of fresh grated lemon zest
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Cook chicken breasts in a large skillet with 1-2 tablespoons oil.  Remove when cooked thoroughly and keep warm in a 200 degree oven.

In the pan (reserve some of the fat from the chicken/oil), heat the shallots, honey and allspice over medium heat and cook, stirring until the shallots are wilted, around 1-2 minutes.  Increase the heat to high and add the chicken stock and lemon juice.  Boil, scraping the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon until reduced to about 1/2 cup.  Add the cream and boil until the sauce is slightly thickened and add the balsamic vinegar, lemon zest, salt and pepper.  Return to a boil and spoon the sauce over the chicken.

(PS-for my veg friends, I imagine this would taste pretty good on some salmon or tuna)

Lemon Baked Chicken

When chicken is on sale, you stock up and try to be creative.  I found a recipe on the Weight Watchers website that sounded good (and easy).  I made a couple of substitutions and it came out great!

• 16 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• Dried parsley flakes
• Salt
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Citrus and basil spice rub (or any kind of dry rub you have on hand)

Place the chicken breasts in a shallow baking pan and drizzle olive oil over them, add salt, parsley and the spice rub (I just eyeball these amounts, a dash of salt, few shakes of the parsley and spice rub).  Add the chicken broth and lemon, flip the chicken and add the parsley, salt and spice to the other side.

Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Serves 4
(WW points-3 each)

Super yum sandwiches

This sandwich couldn't be more simple and more yummy! (And sorry, I didn't take a picture and well, you know me, no measurements).

• 3 ounces cooked, shredded chicken breast (I poached mine, it came out super moist)
• Frank's Red Hot Sauce (maybe about 1 tablespoon? I just add enough until I think it's enough)
• 1 slice provolone cheese
• 1 sesame seed hoagie roll (or whatever bread you have on hand)

Mix the hot sauce with chicken and spread evenly on the sub bun, open faced. Top with cheese and put under the broiler for a couple of minutes until the cheese starts to brown.

Super good!

Greek salad

There is this restaurant by my house that is known for their Greek salads. They put a ton of chicken on them, grilled to perfection, and their house dressing is out of this world. All I know is that it's creamy, kind of pink (I think from beet juice?) and just delicious, but at $9 for a small salad, that is definitely an indulgence!

So today, I set out to make my own, and I was pretty happy with the results! (I wish I could say how much of each I used, but I didn't measure anything, so I'll just tell you what I put in it).

• Boneless, skinless chicken breast seasoned with lemon juice, garlic powder and Greek seasoning
• Romaine lettuce
• Cucumber
• Tomatoes (I used the cherry tomatoes from my garden)
• Red onion
• Mild pepper rings
• Feta cheese
• Beets (I used the canned, which were okay, but not as firm as fresh would have been)
• Ken's Steakhouse Greek salad dressing

Serve with a side of pita bread and you have got yourself a delicious, healthy and super filling salad!

More casserole goodness

I'm calling it chicken asparagus casserole...

• 1 cup cooked Trader Joes Basmati Rice Medley (1/3 cup dry yields 1 cup cooked)
• 5 ounces chicken breast tenders, cooked and shredded (I poached mine with a mix of salt, pepper, garlic powder and thyme)
• 1 cup chopped asparagus (I sauteed mine in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and salt before combining everything)
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup condensed cream of chicken soup (don't mix with any liquid)

Combine all ingredients in a small baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated thoroughly.

Nutritional information: (this is for the entire dish, but I split it in half to get two servings)

Calories: 485
Total Fat: 12g
Sodium: 633mg
Carbs: 50g
Sugars: 5g
Fiber: 6g
Protein: 41g