Chicken Stroganoff with Sauteed Zucchini

 Tender chicken meets savory mushroom white sauce.Yum! This stroganoff is most delicious! I love how quickly this meal comes together and it tastes like you've spent hours in the kitchen slaving over it.

Chicken Stroganoff

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 T butter
8 oz. button mushrooms thinly sliced
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced into bit sized pieces
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t garlic powder
3 T flour
1 C sour cream

In a sauce pan over medium heat sauté chicken and onion in butter. When chicken is about half way done add sliced mushrooms. Continue cooking until chicken is cooked through and mushrooms are tender. Add chicken broth, pepper and garlic powder and simmer on low heat for about 5 min. In a separate bowl, combine and flour and sour cream, mixing until flour is thoroughly incorporated with the sour cream. Increase heat to medium-high and add sour cream and flour mixture to the chicken. Continue stirring as the sauce thickens for about 1 min and then decrease heat to low. Toss your favorite pasta with the sauce or serve sauce over the pasta. 

Zucchini
2 medium zucchini thinly sliced
1 T canola or olive oil
pepper and garlic powder to taste

Slice zucchini and place oil, pepper and garlic powder in a nonstick pan sautéing over medium heat until zucchini softens to your preference. I prefer an almost crisp tender. Serve alongside the chicken stroganoff.

Chili-Rubbed Tilapia

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• This dish brings the heat! I made the recipe as directed minus the salt and it tasted great. Pan frying the fish delivered a tender fillet. In the future I would scale the chili powder down to 1 tablespoon. We served the fish with roasted sweet potatoes with Strawberry Honey Glazed Pork Chops  , french cut green beans and Parmesan Breadsticks . The mild taste from the green beans and bread sticks really complements the spicy kick from the fillets. 
• Enjoy~ 
• Recipe from Eating Well 
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic, powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided- I skipped the salt
• 1 pound tilapia, Pacific sole or other firm white fish fillets
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Combine chili powder, garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt on a plate. Dredge fillets in the spice mixture to coat. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fish and cook until just opaque in the center, gently turning halfway, 5 to 7 minutes total. Divide among 4 plates.

Chicken Chop Suey

This Chicken Chop Suey recipe was one of my first posts back in 2012 and as you can see from the below picture was in serious need of an updated look. Lesson learned: taking pictures in a dark apartment late at night make for less than ideal photos. As one of my popular posts I've kept the recipe the same but added in a couple healthy substitutions!

~Enjoy~

"Before"

Recipe adapted from Eating Well

Chicken Chop Suey
Yield: 4 Servings

• 1 1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 5 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder or 3/4 inch piece fresh ginger, minced
• 1-2 medium green bell peppers, sliced
• 3 cups mung bean sprouts
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• Udon Noodles
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• Combine broth, soy sauce and pepper in a medium bowl. Transfer 2 tablespoons of the mixture to a small bowl and stir in cornstarch until combined.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until juices run clear. Transfer to a bowl and keep covered.
• Drizzle in 1 tablespoon of oil and add the onion and ginger sauteing for about 2 minutes or just until the onions glisten. Add peppers and saute for another minute. Transfer onions and peppers to the chicken and add the both/soy sauce mix to the skillet. Bring to a boil stirring for 1 minute then reduce heat to medium and add in the reserved cornstarch mix. Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until sauce thickens. Reduce heat to low and add in the bean sprouts, chicken and veggies. Heat through and serve over udon noodles or rice. 

Chicken Focaccia Pizza

So what I really wanted was Cosi's flatbread pizza. If you haven't tried it, it’s this thin flat bread that has this delightfully buttery and crisp crust and soft and chewy middle. At the restaurant they open the flat-bread sandwich style, spread the toppings and toast. Delicious! Well I searched the internet high and low looking for that signature bread recipe but it appears they have done a superb work at keeping their little gem a secret.  So I went to plan B and thus the Chicken Focaccia Pizza was born. I began making a focaccia dough seasoned it with rosemary and then spread my toppings, chicken, green peppers, onions, fresh tomatoes and a blend of Havarti and mozzarella cheeses. Wow! This is the pizza of the year in my book. My focaccia crust had the perfect texture, slightly soft and chewy in the middle with a nice crisp as you bite in.

Crust

*The crust ingredients are provided by Sabrina G. You can check out her complete recipe at: All Recipes

·         3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 teaspoon white sugar

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 tablespoon active dry yeast

·         1 cup water

·         2 tablespoons vegetable oil

·         1 egg

·         3 tablespoons olive oil

·         1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

    Directions

      Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Mix well. Heat water and vegetable oil until warm, and add to yeast mixture along with the egg. Blend with an electric mixer at low speed until moistened. Beat for 2 additional minutes. Stir in 1 3/4 cup flour while beating, until dough pulls away from side of bowl.

      Knead in 3/4 cup flour on floured surface. Cover dough with a bowl, and let sit for 5 minutes. Place dough on a greased baking sheet. Roll out to 12 inch circle. Cover with greased plastic wrap and a cloth towel. Place in a warm place for 30 minutes.

      Uncover dough, and poke holes in it with a spoon handle at 1 inch intervals. Drizzle olive oil on dough, and sprinkle with crushed rosemary.

 ***As a note, this crust does a fair amount of rising when baked. If you desire a thinner, crisper crust I suggest splitting the dough between 2-14inch pans. Another option is to use all the dough on 1-14inch sheet and then slice the baked dough open face before placing your pizza toppings.

When the crust has risen as directed, pre-bake the crust at 400F for approximately 10 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned on the sides.

Toppings

To prepare chicken. Cut 1 large chicken breast in half and then butterfly. Place 1 tablespoon of oil in a cast iron skillet and cook chicken on medium heat turning and flipping chicken until no longer pink and cooked through.

Spread your favorite sauce over the prebaked crust, following with the chicken. Next spread the cheese blend and finally top with the onions, peppers and tomatoes. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden brown.

Chicken and Veggies

 

Beef Stroganauf

I should add to the title "Beef Stroganoff-for the rushed poor man" I love that this dish is incredibly quick to prepare and uses common pantry food items. The green pepper adds a nice crunch while the sour cream gives it that recognizable creamy stroganoff feel. I used whole wheat pasta shells but any pasta will taste great.

1 16oz box of whole wheat pasta shells
1 lb ground beef
1/2 medium onion chopped
1/2 large green pepper chopped
garlic powder
black pepper
1 chicken bullion cube
1 1/2 cup hot water
1 cup sour cream
1 T plus 1t flour

Cook pasta according to package and drain.

In a skillet on medium heat cook beef and onion until beef is cooked through. Dissolve chicken bullion in water and add to beef mixture. Stir in peppers and season to taste with garlic powder and black pepper. Allow mixture to simmer on low heat for a couple minutes until peppers have slightly softened. Combine flour and sour cream together and stir into the beef and pepper mixture until combined. Toss hot pasta with sauce and serve.