Mintgrapefruit: January 2013

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Another take on chicken...

I wanted to do something a little different with chicken, we always tend to just roast our chicken with some rub or glaze, which by all means is fine. But, I was wanting something different. I rummaged in our fridge and decided to make a mushroom stuffed chicken breast and wrap it in prosciutto...sounded good to me!

Chicken Prosciutto Roll with Mushroom Stuffing

served 3

2 large chicken breasts
1 pint mushrooms, chopped, use your favorite!
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 slices of prosciutto
2 tbsp dry sherry
1/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Chop one slice of the prosciutto and combine with the mushrooms and garlic in a large saute pan, add the sherry and cook on medium heat until the mushrooms are tender, season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

Mean while, butterfly the chicken breasts and lightly pound them out until you have a uniform thickness. Lay out two pieces of the ham, lay one of the chicken breasts on top of the ham. Spoon half the mushroom mixture over the chicken breast and sprinkle with half the cheese. Carefully roll the chicken and prosciutto, place in a baking dish seam side down. Repeat with the other breast. You can use tooth picks if needed. (A good amount of cheese will ooze out of the rolls while cooking, add more cheese if you would like.)

Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes (may vary depending on your oven)

Slice and serve with rice and a salad. Enjoy!

**This can be made a day ahead and refrigerated or you could even make ahead and freeze. To freeze, after they are rolled you could either wrap individually with plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag or lay on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for about an hour, remove and place in a freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge before cooking.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Chicken Vegetable and Rice Soup

Right now is seems that everyone is feeling a little under the weather. One is finally getting over it, one in the heart of it and one starting to feel it. Luckily whatever we seem to have in the house is more on the lines of a cold then the flu (knock on wood). I was originally going to make chicken and dumplings but instead decided on chicken, vegetable and rice soup.

Chicken, Vegetable and Rice Soup

2 chicken breasts
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
3 celery stalks
2-3 carrots
1 small to medium zucchini
5 mushrooms (about 1/2 cup chopped)
6 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 tsp dried tarragon
2 bay leafs
1 cup brown rice
Salt and pepper

In a Dutch oven, cook the chicken in a little olive oil. While the chicken is cooking, chop all the veggies. When the chicken is almost finished cooking, add the onions. Cook until translucent. Add in the garlic and celery, cook until the celery is just starting to get soft. Remove the chicken, set aside, and add the carrots. Cook carrot until they start to get tender. Add the zucchini and mushrooms. Stir to coat. Add broth and herbs, bring to a boil then add rice. Continue to simmer until the rice is cooked, about 20 minutes.

I added a little sriracha on mine for a bit of spice, I recommend it, but it is up to you. You could also omit the chicken and use vegetable broth for a vegetarian/vegan option. I hope you enjoy and stay well!

Saturday, January 12, 2013

A Week of {Easy} Gluten Free Lunches

I have always struggled with packed lunches, more so because of scheduling and time then of what to eat. This year, amongst other things, I would like to be better about planning and getting my lunches together ahead of time so I'm not running out the door thinking "crap! I forgot about lunch!" Maybe I will be better when I'm making my son his lunch too, but for now his day care provides his, so I'm on my own.

I start by planning out my grocery trip and figuring out what we will do for dinners for the week, I rarely ever think about lunches. A lot of times my lunches are just leftovers from dinners so it works out. Every now and then I get the idea of making my lunches ahead of time, either the night before or on Sunday. Well, that rarely ever happens, nights are usually hectic and I just want to sit once my son is in bed and Sunday's well it is all and good but I usually get caught up with something else or just forget. So, I somewhat planned and am sharing my weeks worth of easy GF lunches.

Dilly Tuna Salad Sandwich with a small side salad

2 slices of Udi's White Sandwich bread, or what ever your preference is
1/2 can white albacore tuna, in water
1/2 tsp (or so) of dried dill, use fresh if you have it!
1 tbsp mayonnaise, adjust to your liking

Mix tuna, dill and mayonnaise in a bowl. Easy peasy! (I am sure you have made tuna salad before at some point so I am sure I didn't need to tell you how it works.)

For the side salad, use your favorite greens and toppings, the options are endless. If you didn't want to make a sandwich you could always just add the tuna to the salad. Here is what is in my salad, I just used what I had on hand: Chopped romaine lettuce, carrots, sunflower seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), chia seeds with a dressing of equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar with just a pinch of salt and pepper.

Loaded Salad with celery sticks and peanut butter and strawberries

For this salad I used red leaf lettuce, carrots, cheese cubes, yellow pepper, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, pepitas, chia seeds and shaved turkey with a olive oil and balsamic dressing.

Chicken & Vegetable Stir-fry over Rice with a few "lunch box" snacks and carrots & hummus

This was a dinner left over, made by my wonderful husband (not the best picture though). The night before I prepped everything he needed so he was able to just throw it together for dinner. I also added just some quick grab and go snacks, a cheese stick and fruit snacks.

3 chicken cutlets, sliced into about 1/2 inch pieces (optional)
1-1 1/2 cups each of:
broccoli florets
shiitake mushrooms, sliced
zucchini, sliced
peppers, sliced
snow or snap peas
1/4 cup carrots, thinly sliced
1/4 cup water chestnuts

Cook Chicken and set aside. Add vegetables to a hot wok, starting with the longer cooking. Carrots, broccoli, peppers, peas, zucchini and then mushrooms. Add the chicken and the water chestnuts, stir in sauce. Serve over rice.

Sauce (makes about 1/2 cup)
1/8 cup tamari soy sauce
1/8 cup (or less depending on your taste) sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
2 heaping tbsp smooth peanut butter

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, set aside until ready to use.

Turkey & Cheese Sandwich with strawberries and a cheese stick

Ok, so you may have noticed that I don't put my sandwiches together before hand, there are a couple reasons why I would rather assemble on-site. One, I like to toast my bread (especially since switching to GF) and two, I can't stand soggy bread. The only sandwich I will make an exception for is a good ol' peanut butter and jelly, but that is it.

Vegetable Fried Rice

So this lunch was the result of a fridge raid, I just grabbed some things and threw them together. We had leftover rice and peas and mushrooms. In a wok I heated olive oil, added minced garlic and the mushrooms and some chopped onion. Cooked that for a bit, then added the rice and peas. I added some GF soy sauce and a scrambled egg for some protein. Viola! Simple and done in like 10 minutes.

I hope you like my easy lunches, I would love to know some GF lunches that you enjoy!

Thursday, January 3, 2013

My top 12 of 2012!

The year is over, and I know I am a couple days late, it has been a long yet quick 2012. I have made a couple life changes this past year which have made me stronger and healthier. I accomplished my first triathlon, which I never thought in a million years (and probably anyone who knows me) thought I would ever do. I have completely changed how I eat, going gluten free has been a blessing.

So, I thought I would share my top 12 viewed posts of 2012 (in order from oldest to newest), thank you for following and listening to my rants, struggles and adventures!