Mexican Quinoa with Easy Slow-Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken

  

Ingredients for Mexican Quinoa

1 cup Tricolor Quinoa (Rinsed and Drained)
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1-10 oz. can Diced Tomato with Green Chiles
1/2 cup Frozen Corn Kernels
1/4 cup Onion (diced)
1 cup Chicken Broth
1/4 tsp Ground Cumin
1/4 tsp Ground Coriander
1/4 tsp Ground Annatto
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 Green Onion (sliced)
1 tbsp Cilantro (minced) *optional

Heat olive oil in your pot over medium-high heat. Add the the drained quinoa and toast for 1 minute. Add the onions, diced tomatoes and corn. Cook for 2 more minutes or until the liquid from the tomatoes is absorbed. Add the broth and spices and bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce to simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.  DO NOT peak or uncover.  After the 15 minutes, turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 more minutes covered.  Now fluff with a fork.  Then add your green onion and cilantro before serving.

 

Ingredients for Easy Slow-Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken

1- 40 oz. Bag of Frozen Chicken Tenders

1 Jar of Guy Fieri's Green & Mean Salsa Verde

1- 8 oz. can of Tomato Sauce

1/2 tsp Ground Cumin

1/2 tsp Ground Coriander

1 tsp Onion Powder

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Kosher Salt

Juice of 1 Lime

1/2 cup Plain Greek Yogurt (can substitute with Sour Cream)

1 tbsp Cilantro (minced) *optional

Add all the ingredients (except for the yogurt and cilantro) to your slow cooker pot.  (I didn't even thaw the chicken!) Set your slow cooker on high for 4 hours.  After 3 hours remove the chicken, shred it and return it to the pot.  Stir in the yogurt and let it finish cooking.  When ready to serve stir in the cilantro.

This recipe can be used as a filling for tacos, enchiladas, served over rice or with my Mexican Quinoa!  Accompanied by a few slices of creamy ripe avocado and pico de gallo.

Chimichurri-style Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

4 Chicken Tenderloins
1 cup Cilantro
1 tbsp. Dried Parsley
1 tsp. Dried Whole Oregano
Juice of 1 Lime
5 Garlic Cloves
1 tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
3 tbsp. Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
Pepper to taste

Add all ingredients, except the chicken tenderloins to the bowl of your food processor.  Pulse a few times until garlic is completely minced and everything is an even consistency.
Place chicken tenderloins in a ziploc bag with the sauce and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Once chicken has marinated, preheat your indoor grill to it's highest setting.  Add the chicken tenderloins to the grill, cook and cover for 5 minutes then flip chicken and cook on the other side for another 3 to 4 minutes covered.  Once tenders are cooked through, remove from heat and let them rest covered for 2 or 3 minutes.
Serve with a nice salad or topped with a little homemade guacamole and sour cream.

Serves 2 to 4

Chicken Japchae (Chap Chae)

If there is one korean dish that I absolutely love and can't live without it has to be Japchae!  Unfortunately the original dish has quite a bit of carbs since it uses cellophane noodles, which are made of sweet potato flour.  But I have come up with a way to continue enjoying my beloved Japchae without all those nasty carbs!  I hope you all enjoy this one!!!

Ingredients

1 Chicken Breast (sliced very thin)
1-package Miracle Noodle Shirataki Angel Hair (prepared per pkg. directions, then cut)
1 cup Fresh Spinach Leaves (sliced thin)
1 Green Onion (sliced)
2 heads Baby Bok Choy (sliced thin)
1/2 Onion (sliced)
1/2 cup Carrot Matchsticks
8 Whole Dry Shitake Mushrooms (reconstituted and sliced thin)
1 Egg (optional)
Sesame oil
Nonstick cooking spray
1 tbsp. Toasted Sesame Seeds

Sauce/Marinade

2 tsp. Splenda
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 clove Garlic (grated)
1/2 tsp. Sesame oil
1/2 tsp. White Pepper

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce/marinade.  You should have about a 1/2 cup.  Reserve 1/4 cup for use as the sauce for the noodles and vegetables.  Add the thin sliced chicken to the rest of the marinade and let it sit for at least 5 minutes.  Meanwhile prep all your vegetables.

 Now heat your wok on high heat and spray it.  Drain your chicken of the marinade and add it to the wok.  Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden, then remove.

 Now spray your wok again and add the carrots and onions.  Add 1 tbsp. of the reserved marinade.  Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until slightly softened.  Move to a plate.

Spray your wok again and add the mushrooms.  Cook for 3 minutes then add the spinach,  bok choy and 1 tbsp. of the marinade.  Cook for another 2 minutes then remove.

Spray again and crack your egg into the wok.  Scramble the egg in the wok then push to the side and add your noodles.  Cook the noodles for 2 minutes with the remaining sauce then add the chicken and vegetables back to the wok.  Cook for an additional 2 minutes then turn off the heat and add the green onions, sesame seeds and a drizzle of sesame oil.  Toss everything together and serve.  Enjoy!

French Onion Chicken Soup

I've been craving some of my all time favorite soup lately, so I decided to come up with a way to make it with more protein so it's worth eating for a WLS patient.  This is what I came up with, it's easy and VERY tasty.

Ingredients

4 cups Beef Stock
2 Large Sweet Onions (thinly sliced)
1 Shallot (thinly sliced)
1/2 cup Tyson Grilled Diced Chicken (chopped)
4 slices Pepperidge Farm Very Thin Wheat Bread
4-8 slices Baby Swiss Cheese (or Gruyere)
1/4 tsp. Dried Thyme
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp. Land O' Lakes Light Butter
4 tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Melt 2 tbsp. of butter in a saute pan.  Add your onions and shallot.  Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occassionally.  Meanwhile in a saucepan add the beef stock, dried thyme, salt and pepper to taste and bring to a simmer.  After 20 minutes raise the heat on the onions to medium high, remove the cover and cook onions for 10 more minutes until nice and golden and sweet. 

Add a ladle of stock to the saute pan to deglaze and pick up all the bits from the pan.  Set a 1/4 cup of this mixture aside to cool slightly for pureeing.  Add the rest of the onions and the chicken to the beef stock.  Meanwhile, puree the onion mixture we set aside with 1/2 tbsp of butter (this will thicken the soup slightly).  Stir the puree into the stock and simmer for 10 minutes.  While the soup is simmering toast your slices of bread and use the remaining 1/2 tbsp butter to spread onto the toast. 
Preheat your toaster oven broiler at the highest temperature.
Once soup has simmered for 10 minutes turn off the heat and carefully ladle into four 8 oz. ramekins, add 1 tbsp. of parmesan cheese to each ramekin and stir.  Top each ramekin with a slice of toast and 1 to 2 slices of baby swiss (depending on how cheesy you like it).

Place the ramekins on a baking pan and carefully put it in the toaster oven for 5 to 8 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted and gooey.

Makes 4 servings

Spinach & Mushroom Chicken Alfredo

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breast Tenderloin pieces (cut bite-sized)
4 Baby Portobello Mushrooms (sliced)
1 cup Spinach leaves (torn)
1/4 cup Diced Onion
1/2 cup Homemade Alfredo sauce (see recipe here)
1/4 cup Hood Calorie Countdown 2% Milk
1 tbsp. EVOO
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat EVOO in a saute pan and add mushrooms.  Cook for 6 to 8 minutes over medium heat until soft and golden.  Add onions and cook for 2 more minutes.  Remove mushrooms and onions from the pan and add more EVOO if necessary.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to the pan to brown.  After chicken browns return the mushroom and onions to the pan.  Add the alfredo sauce, milk and spinach.  Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Serves 2

Chicken and Mushroom Egg Foo Yung

Ingredients

Gravy

2 1/2 cups water + 2 tsp. Chicken Bouillon
2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
3/4 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1 Green Onion (chopped)
Pinch of White pepper

Omelette

4 Large Eggs (beaten with 1 tsp. soy sauce)
3 Baby Portobellos (sliced)
1/4 cup Onion (diced)
1/2 cup Matchstick Carrots (chopped)
2 cups Fresh Bean Sprouts
2 Green Onions (chopped)
1 cup Tyson Frozen Diced Grilled & Ready Chicken (roughly chopped)
2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 Garlic Clove (grated)
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
Sesame Oil
Pepper to taste

Preheat toaster oven to 350°

Heat olive oil in a saute pan and add the mushrooms and onions.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile defrost chicken in microwave then chop.  When veggies are tender add more olive if necessary, then add the garlic and cook for another minute.   Add the chicken, bean sprouts, carrots, soy sauce and pepper.  Cook for another 6 to 8 minutes or until bean sprouts are limp.  Turn off the heat, stir in the green onions and a few drops of sesame oil and let it cool.

While we wait let's prepare the gravy.  Combine all ingredients (except green onion) and whisk until everything has dissolved.  Once thickened, turn off the heat, add the green onion and cover.
Now combine the eggs and chicken mixture and ladle into a 6 cup muffin pan that has been sprayed.

Bake for 20 minutes or until eggs are completely set. Serve with the gravy.

Makes 3 to 6 servings

*Note:  Any leftover gravy can be frozen for later use.

Chicken Spinach Alfredo Pizza

Ingredients

1 Nature's Own Multigrain Sandwich Round
1/2 Clove Garlic
1/4 cup Freshly grated Mozzarella Cheese* (see note)
1 cup Frozen Chopped Spinach Leaves
1 cup Tyson Frozen Diced Grilled & Ready Chicken
1/4 cup Onion (diced)
1/4 cup Homemade Alfredo sauce (see recipe here)
1/2 tsp. Salt
Nonstick Olive Oil spray

Preheat toaster oven to 350°

Spray your toaster oven baking sheet and place your split sandwich rounds on it.  Spray the tops and bake for 3 minutes.  Take rounds out of the oven and rub garlic clove on the breads surface.  Set aside.
Spray a small skillet on medium heat and add your frozen spinach (no need to thaw) cover.  Meanwhile defrost your diced chicken in the microwave.  Roughly chop the thawed chicken and add it to the skillet along with the onions.  Season with the salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.  Add your alfredo sauce and cook for another 2 minutes.
Divide the spinach and chicken mixture among the 2 rounds and top each with half the mozzarella cheese.  Place back into the toaster oven for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes set toaster oven on broil and raise the temperature and broil for 5 minutes to brown the cheese.  (Be sure your baking sheet is on the center rack throughout the cooking process.)

*Note:  I buy the mozzarella brick and shred as I need it.  This reduces the carbs as well, since already grated cheese has additives like cornstarch to keep it from clumping.

Makes 2 personal pizzas

Bonnie's Chicken Chop Suey

Ingredients

8 Chicken Tenderloins (thinly sliced)
1 tbsp. Rice Vinegar
3 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp. Sesame Oil
1/8 tsp. Chinese Five Spice Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tbsp. Cornstarch
1/2 tbsp. Fresh Ginger (grated)
Pepper to Taste
1 cup water + 1 tsp. Chicken Bouillon Powder
8 oz. can Bamboo Shoots (rinsed and drained)
14.5 oz. can Bean Sprouts (rinsed and drained)
1/2 cup Julienned Carrots
1 stalk Bok Choy (sliced)
2 stalks Celery (sliced)
1/2 Onion (sliced)
2 Green Onions (sliced)
4 Mushrooms (sliced)
2 cloves Garlic (minced)
2 tbsp. Canola Oil

Let's start by marinading our chicken in a large bowl with 2 tbsp. of soy sauce, the rice vinegar, five spice powder, salt, sesame oil, ginger, cornstarch and pepper to taste.  Marinade for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile get all your veggies ready to saute in a large wok with lid.

The carrots and mushrooms forgot to join the picture party! lol

Heat your wok on high and add 1 tbsp. canola oil.  When wok is smoking add your celery, onions and mushrooms.  Saute for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender (you do not want them to brown.  Now add the garlic, bok choy, carrots, bamboo shoots and bean sprouts.  Saute for 2 more minutes them remove them to a plate. 
Add the other tbsp. of canola oil to the wok and add your chicken.  Cook the chicken until no longer pink (about 6 to 8 minutes).  Add the bouillon water, soy sauce and veggies.  Cook covered for an additional 8 minutes on medium-high heat.  Once ready add the green onions and turn off the heat.
Serve with a side of brown rice or by itself.