Chicken Sautee with Creamy Mushroom and Leek Sauce

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (1-1 1/4 pounds)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, or canola oil
1/2 pound cremini, or baby bella mushrooms, wiped clean and thinly sliced (2 1/2 cups)
1 small leek, trimmed, washed (see Tip) and thinly sliced (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup dry white wine, or vermouth
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
1.Trim visible fat from chicken breasts. Remove the tenders (the long thin flaps); reserve for another use (see Tip). Place trimmed chicken breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with a rolling pin, meat mallet or heavy skillet until flattened to an even thickness, about 1/2 inch. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow glass dish. Dredge chicken in seasoned flour, shaking off excess. (Discard any leftover flour.)
2.Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until well browned and no longer pink in the center, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, cover and keep warm.
3.Add mushrooms and leek to the pan; cook over medium heat, stirring often, until most of the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms are beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add wine (or vermouth) and deglaze, scraping up any browned bits, for about 1 minute. Mix broth and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to the pan and cook until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in sour cream and mustard; cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon over the chicken and sprinkle with parsley.

Carlic Chicken with Honey Butternut Squash

Ok so the picture above isn't exactly what this meal looks like, but it's the closest I could find! This recipe was VERY tasty! The little boy next door ate dinner with us and he loved it. Then his mom came over and nibbled on it and she loved it too! I ended up making some more cous cous and gave her all the leftovers to take to the rest of her family for dinner!

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts cut into 2 inch cubes

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup dry white wine

15-20 cloves garlic

1 butternut squash, cut into 2 inch cubes, peeled

various spices to coat chicken (I used oregano, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder and onion powder)

1 package cous cous (any flavor - we prefer wild mushroom and herb)

1 tablespoon honey

Directions:

1. Mix cut up butternut squash with 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and 1 tablespoon honey

2. Add the cut up pieces of butternut squash to the bottom of a crockpot. Add can of cream of chicken soup, white wine and cloves of garlic.

3. Mix spices with a splash of EVOO. Rub this mixture into the chicken and then cut chicken into small cubes; add chicken to crock pot,

4. Cook on low 2 hours or high 1 hour until consistency is soup-like.

5. Serve over cous cous and enjoy!

Rustic Lemon Onion Chicken

I got this recipe from Jen's blog: http://www.bakeorbustblog.blogspot.com/. I haven't tried it yet, but it's on the menu for this week because it sounds so delicious!
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced in half crossways (butterflied, cut all the way through)
1 teaspoon dried thyme, plus 1 small bunch fresh thyme, leaves chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white wine, optional
1 cup chicken broth
3 lemons, juiced
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
Spinach "bed", recipe follows

Directions:
1. Season chicken with dried thyme and salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the oil. Dredge the chicken in flour, add to the hot oil and saute until cooked through. Set chicken aside to rest on plate tented with foil.
2. In same saute pan, over low heat, add onions and fresh thyme and cook until aromatic.
3. In a measuring cup, measure out wine, if using, and broth, and add the lemon juice. Turn the heat up to high, and deglaze the pan with the broth mixture until starting to reduce.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and finish the sauce by whisking in butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Place a bed of cooked spinach on a serving platter, top with the chicken. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

*Spinach "bed":
•1 bag pre-washed fresh spinach
•3 tablespoons water
•1 tablespoon butter
•1 lemon, juiced
•Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Microwave spinach in a microwave-proof dish with a few tablespoons of water on high for 5 to 6 minutes, or until hot. Drain, and toss with butter, lemon juice, and salt and pepper, to taste.

Italian Roast Chicken with Orange and Oregano

This recipe is from Rachel Ray and just looks like the perfect dish to make when you have people over. The presentation is just so beautiful and I love the idea of oranges, garlic and onions together -- great flavors!

Ingredients:
8 pieces of bone-in, skin-on chicken, your choice of cuts
Salt
4 heads of garlic
EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for liberal drizzling
Black pepper
4 navel or blood oranges
6 fresh bay leaves
3 medium red onions, peeled, root-end in tact and cut into wedges
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1/3 palmful
3 to 4 stems fresh oregano leaves, a couple of tablespoons, finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup good quality orange blossom honey
Crusty bread, to pass at table

DIrections:
1. Wash and dry chicken and season with salt, then refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 425˚F.
2. Cut ends off the garlic heads and dress with a little EVOO, salt and pepper. Wrap in foil and place in oven, roast 45 minutes until golden and soft.
3. Meanwhile, in a roasting pan or large casserole, toss 2 sliced or wedge-cut oranges with red onions, bay leaves and a liberal drizzle of EVOO – enough to thinly coat the oranges, bay leaves, and onions (a couple of tablespoons). Season with salt and pepper and scoot the oranges and onions off to the sides of the pan.
4. Arrange chicken in pan and rub with EVOO to coat the skin. Season chicken with black and red pepper then scatter the oregano over the chicken, onions and oranges. Add wine to the pan, along with the juice of 2 oranges. Drizzle honey around the pan and place in the oven. Toast 45 minutes or until juices run clear.
5. Serve chicken with oranges and onions, and with pan juices spooned over top and a whole head of roasted garlic along side. Pop cloves away from skins as you eat your chicken or spread on crusty bread.

Pecan Crusted Chicken

This recipe is from http://www.eatingwell.com/. The flavor is so unique (with the orange zest and chili powder) and was super delicious. Don't overcook the chicken - it's best with the breading when it's super juicy!
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup pecan halves
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 large egg
2 tablespoons water
1 tasblespoon oil

Directions:
1. Place pecans, breadcrumbs, orange zest, and chili powder in a food processor or blender and pulse until pecans are finely ground. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish. Whisk egg and water in shallow dish until combined. Dip each chicken breast into the egg and then dredge both sides in the pecan mixture.
2.Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink inside (about 4 minutes per side). Serve immediately.

*Serves 4
*I also coated and cooked some shrimp with the pecan mixture since I had some and it was delicious! I also made a lemon garlic spinach to go with the meal which complemented the citrus flavor in the chicken from the orange zest. A GREAT recipe -- very unique flavor!

Lemon Garlic Chicken and Shrimp Stir Fry

Yummmmmy! Tonight's dinner is one of my absolute favorites! And at only 225 calories a dish, it's pretty good for you too! The recipe is for chicken only, but I added some shrimp since I had some and it sounded good! You can also use the chow mein noodles or brown rice - which ever you prefer. We normally eat SO much rice that I chose noodles to make instead. This recipe did require a lot of prep time --cutting the carrots, mushrooms and scallions. My mom made this recipe last week and I called her while she was making it and she said it was taking her forever to cut everything up, so don't say you weren't wanred! It is worth it though because it is very tasty!
Ingredients:
1 lemon
1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch (I didn't have any so I used a little bit of flour - just to thicken it some)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
10 ounces mushrooms, halved (I nixed these since Jason doesn't like them)
1 cup diagonally cut sliced carrots (1/4 inches thick)
2 cups snow peas, stems and strings removed
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts divided
1 tablespoon chopped garlic (I used minced from a jar and about 4 times as much! We LOVE garlic!)

Directions:
1. Grate 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and set aside. Juice lemon and whisk 3 tablespoons of the zest with broth, soy sauce and cornstarch i na small bowl.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through (4-5 minutes). Transfer to a plate. Add mushrooms and carrots to the pan and cook until carrots are tender (5 minutes). Add snow peas, scallion whites, garlic, and the reserved lemon zest. cook, stirring, until fragrant (30 seconds). Whisk the broth mixture and add to pan; cook, stirring until thickened (2-3 minutes). Add scallion greens and te chicken and shrimp and any accumulated juices. Cook until heated through (2-3 minutes).
3. Pour over rice or noodles.

*Serves 4
*225 calories (sans shrimp), 6 g fat, 14 g carbs, 27 g protein, 3 g fiber

Garlic Vinegar Chicken

Tonight's dinner was good but not great. It was a garlic vinegar chicken served with cous cous (ahh brings me back to my days in France!) and steamed broccoli. It had a great flavor and was very tender, but if I were to make it again, I would use less mustard. None the less, it was quite tasty and different from what I would normally make! Here's the recipe:
Ingredients:
3 lbs bone in chicken pieces, skin removed
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
7 teaspoons EVOO, divided
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup minced shallots
16 large cloves garlic, peeled
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup chicken broth (reduced sodium)
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 tablespoon dijon mustard (or less if you don't like mustard)
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons all purpose flour
2 medium tomatoes
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh chives

Directions:
1. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil and butter in pan and add chicken. Brown 5-7 minutes on each side and then remove to a plate.
2. Heat 2 more teaspoons oil. Add shallots and garlic and cook until shallots are soft and lightly browned (about 1 minute). Add vinegar and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pot. Pour in broth and then carefully nestle the thyme sprigs among the chicken pieces (or stir in dry thyme).
3. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and simmer over medium-low heat until chicken is very tender (about 50 minutes).
4. Just before the chicken is done, whisk sour cream, mustard, tomato paste and flour in a bowl until smooth.
5. When the chicken is done, remove to a plate, discarding the thyme sprigs. Stir the sour cream mixture int othe sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, return the chicken to the sauce and reheat about 1 minute. Serve garnished with tomatoes and chives.

*Serves 6
*301 calories, 14 g fat, 34 g protein, 6 g fiber, 9 g carbs