Tag Archives: spinach

Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

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Yes, some could call this a copycat recipe of the famous Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi soup! I, personally, think it tasted quite similar, but it wasn’t quite as salty… which I liked! I also didn’t use heavy cream, so it probably cut down on the calories as well. This one was DEFINITELY a winner! We had plenty of leftovers so my husband gets to enjoy this one for lunch for the next few days! He’s excited! 😉

So, here is the recipe! Enjoy, and slurp up this awesome soup as the weather turns more and more chilly outside! It’ll keep you warm inside!

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 TB butter
  • 3/4 lb chicken tenderloins cooked and chopped (about 6-7 chicken tenderloins chopped… makes 1 or 1 1/2 cups chicken)
  • 1/2 onion diced
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp garlic salt
  • 4 cups low sodium chicken broth (1 32oz. box)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 stalk of celery finely chopped (or more if you prefer… I like to go light on celery)
  • 1/2 cup grated carrots
  • 2 TB white whole wheat all purpose flour
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp rubbed sage
  • 1 cup rough chopped (or whole, with stems removed) fresh baby spinach
  • 2 TB parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup half&half

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Instructions:

1. Cook your chicken in 1 Tb olive oil, about 4 minutes each side, and sprinkle garlic salt on each side as cooking. Remove from heat and chop into 1/2 inch pieces and set aside.
2. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat and then add the celery, onion, carrots and garlic and stir for 3-5 minutes, or until the celery starts to soften.
3. Whisk in the flour, then add the chicken broth slowly while stirring.
4. Next. add the chicken, nutmeg, thyme, and sage and stir well. Increase heat to bring to a boil, then reduce to let simmer for 15 minutes or so.
5. Bring to low heat so no longer bubbling, and SLOWLY add the half&half so as not to curdle the milk. Then, add the spinach, gnocchi and parmesan cheese. I use fresh gnocchi, so it only needed to cook for 2-3 minutes after, and then it was ready to serve!
6. If needed (I did!), add equal parts corn starch and cold water in a separate bowl, stir, and then slowly incorporate it into the soup as a thickener.

DELICIOUS!!!!!

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Lemony Orzo Chicken Sausage Soup

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Ok, so since it’s officially fall, I figured I wanted to do some posts on SOUP! What’s better in the fall and winter than soup? The ultimate comfort food, even when it’s low cal! And this one definitely fits both descriptions. Delicious, filling, high in protein and low in fat. So, over the next 2 weeks you will be seeing a lot of soup recipes as I figure out which I like best, which I will put in jars for freezing and lunches… and which I should leave for someone else to perfect… 😉 . So, this one was a winner. I loved it! It was inexpensive to make too. A box of orzo was only $0.89 at Publix! Woohoo! Try this one out for sure!

Ingredients

  • 1 10 oz package chicken sausage halved and sliced (I used 4 out of the 6 links and froze the remaining 2) I also used “Thin&Trim” brand chicken sausage “Sweet Italian” version that is 95% fat free, and has all natural ingredients w/out nitrites!
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 TB butter
  • 1/2 small onion diced
  • 1/2 tsp garlic minced
  • 2 medium carrots, sliced
  • 1/4 teaspon dried sage
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried tarragon
  • ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup water
  • splash white wine (only if so desired)
  • 1/2 cup orzo
  • 1 cups fresh spinach
  • juice and zest of 1/2 lemon (about 1-2 TB of lemon juice)
  • 2-3 TB shaved parmesan for garnish

Lemonchickenorzosoup

As you can see, I served this with Grilled cheese that had a couple of sliced of avocado in it… YUM!

Instructions

  1. In stock pot heat sliced sausage until heated through, about 5-8 minutes. Remove and set aside.
  2. Add olive oil to pan. Add onion and garlic, sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add carrots and herbs, lemon zest and juice and 1 TB butter. Continue cooking just until carrots begin to soften. Add splash of white wine if so desired.
  3. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in orzo. Continue cooking for 8 minutes or until pasta has finished cooking. Add 1 cup water. Stir in sausage and spinach, stir and bring back to simmer. Serve.

Enjoy!

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Short Ribs – Served 2 Ways… and mighty good either way!!!

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Shortribsongritsshortribsonpotatoes

Short Ribs, served on top of cheesy grits OR garlic, parmesan mashed potatoes…. You choose!!

I was watching one of my favorite cooking shows the other day, and someone made short ribs. I was thinking… short ribs?! I could do that, right? I have GOT to try that if they make it on a cooking show. They must be amazing!!! So, I found a recipe and adapted it to make it my own. And I have found out…. I LOVE short ribs! They were incredibly easy too!!! You could cook a roast the same way! LOVE! You could even do sirloin tips, etc similarly. Easy and quick recipe!

Ingredients (including grits AND potatoes… you can choose either though)

6-8 individual short ribs (or more depending on the size of your crowd! You want about 1-2 per person)
3-4 TB butter (4 if you want to top the ribs after serving with a bit of butter)
1 TB minced garlic
1/4 onion cut roughly (larger pieces)
1 cup red wine (I used an “Old Vine Zinfandel”) this is optional, you can just use beef broth; OR substitute with a dark beer
1 cup low sodium organic beef broth
4 carrots cut into large pieces
salt & pepper
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
3 TB quick cooking white grits (or yellow grits… your preference)
3/4 cup water (for grits)
5-6 red potatoes
2 TB milk
2 TB parmesan cheese

 

Directions:

Place cast iron skillet (or normal skillet) on stove and heat up. Do not put oil in the skillet. While it is heating up, dry the short ribs with a paper towel, and sprinkle sea salt and pepper on all sides of the short ribs. Then, making sure the skillet is hot, sear the short ribs on all sides so they have a nice crust. Only about 30 seconds per side. Then, place into your crock pot. When you remove the short ribs from the pan, DO NOT dump any drippings from the pan. (You can also do this in a dutch oven baking at 350 for 3-4 hours). Put your crock pot on HIGH for cooking for 4-5 hours, put on LOW to cook for 7-8 hours. Add 1/4 cup of the beef broth to the skillet that you just finished searing the meat in. Then add the garlic and the onions to the skillet and stir into the simmering beef broth. Once that’s simmering, add 1/4 cup of the wine and a tsp of the worcestershire sauce and 1 TB of butter. Simmer that until it reduces by half. While that is simmering, add the remaining liquids into the crock pot and place a small amount of the butter onto the top of each of the short ribs. Once the liquid in the skillet has reduced, pour that into the crock pot and place the lid onto the crock pot.

Cook as directed above until the meat is about falling off of the bone…. And… if you want some gravy, just take about 1 cup of the drippings, place into a sauce pan, add a TB or a bit more of flour… Simmer and WHISK vigorously until thickened!

When it’s about time to serve the short ribs, you’ll want to make your sides. The wilted spinach in the above picture, all I did was sautee it in some of the “au jus” from the crock pot for about 2-3 min. Done. The carrots I also sauteed in the au jus, just for about 5-10 min until starting to soften.

The mashed potatoes was a version of a previous recipe of mine: https://dancinandcookininthekitchen.com/2014/06/08/crispy-coconut-encrusted-chicken-with-mashed-potatoes/

The grits, I just followed the instructions on the package for quick cooking grits. Once they were done, I removed from the heat and stirred in about 2 TB of shredded cheddar cheese. That’s it!

Serve up, and ENJOY!!! My hubby said “I’d order this in a restaurant, develop a craving for it, and then have to keep going back just to order it!”. So, I’d say it was a major success!!!

And, for the quote of the day:

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Mediterranean Pasta with Chicken

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It’s still a bit rough for me around the house… still can’t get my “chopped up” finger wet with those stitches… and I had a crown put in today… and my head is pounding! So, easy pasta dish it is! I’m going to try to do more than just pasta dishes… but to be quite honest… anything that has pasta, chicken, and vegetables… no matter the combinations… you can almost bet I’d love it!

This one is a very good one, but you have to like capers. I do though!!

Ingredients:

6 chicken tenderloins, or 2 chicken breasts
2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp chopped fresh basil
1 large grilled zucchini cut into large pieces
1 red bell pepper chopped into small pieces
1 cup (dry) orzo pasta (or another small pasta)
1 TB chopped fresh parsley
1 TB capers (drained and rinsed well)
1/2 cup fresh spinach
5 or 6 grape tomatoes halved
1 TB grated parmesan on top after serving

Cook the pasta according to the package until al’dente. While the pasta is cooking, place the chicken into a skillet w/the olive oil, salt and pepper the chicken on either side before you place into the skillet (or after!). Cook until browned, and then add fresh herbs and the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and add the spinach. Stir in the cooked pasta, and then add in the vegetables and let simmer until thickened. Stir in the capers, top with parsley and serve. Enjoy!

Light Chicken Parmesan with Wilted Spinach

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Original Recipe Credit: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=10972
All things that I changed, I have added in parenthesis or with an asterisk

12 ounces white meat chicken (one double breast) (I used 6 frozen, boneless skinless chicken tenderloins)
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Italian-style bread crumbs (I used plain panko crumbs)
1 tsp garlic powder 
1 tbsp onions, dried (I used onion powder)
Crushed red peppers if desired (I omitted these entirely… I’m not into spicy in my Italian food..)
1 -2 tbsp olive oil
Approximately 1 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce (as much as you’d prefer)
Mozzarella cheese (grated)

I soaked my chicken tenderloins in coconut milk for 30 minutes in the refrigerator in a baggie while I was cutting the strawberries, prepping the breading and taking the stems off of the spinach.

Mix panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, and a little bit of oregano in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large skillet, but 2 TB of olive oil, and heat on med to med-high heat. When hot, a drop of water will sizzle.Take the chicken out of the bag of coconut milk (you can also use buttermilk) and dip into the breading mix. Coat well on both sides. Place onto hot skillet. Try to fit all 6 tenderloins into pan. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, until brown. I used tongs to flip. 

While the chicken is cooking, prep a cookie sheet with tin foil (or not, if you don’t mind scrubbing baked cheese off of a cookie sheet). Place all 6 pieces of chicken onto baking sheet. Top with marinara/spaghetti sauce. Then top with mozzarella and a little bit of parmesan cheese.Put into oven on Broil (LOW) for 5 minutes.

While the chicken is broiling to melt the cheese, and finish the cooking of the chicken, place the spinach in a small skillet with 1 – 2 TB of olive oil and salt. Toss for about 2 minutes until wilted, but still bright green.Remove the chicken and make sure FULLY cooked. If needed, cut one in half. Make sure that there is NO pink left.

 ENJOY!

Grown-ups Mac&Cheese

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Myversionmac&cheese

I’m going to call this MY version of grown-ups mac&cheese. Because truly, this is what I would pick over baked Mac&Cheese, or anything similar. This is my comfort food. YUM!

original recipe credit: http://www.lifeasastrawberry.com/parmesan-spinach-orzo/

(Anything that I Change or Add, I will put afterwards with a parenthesis or an asterisk *)

  • 2 and 1/2 cups whole wheat orzo (*I used high-fiber orzo)
  • 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 green onions, chopped (* I used a sweet onion)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tsp. flour
  • 1 cup milk (I used skim!) (I used unsweetened coconut milk)
  • 2/3 cups spinach, chopped
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded, plus extra for garnish

I then cooked 2 pieces of pre-cooked Trader Joe’s uncured bacon in the microwave until extra crispy, and set it aside. (approximately 40 seconds)

Take 4-6 frozen Trader Joe’s boneless chicken tenderloins and put into skillet w/2-3 turns of extra virgin olive oil. (They do not need to be thawed). Put salt&pepper, garlic powder and a little bit of Mrs. Dash to each side of the tenderloin, and simmer on medium to low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until firm. Then remove from heat and set aside.

Directions:

  1. Cook orzo according to package directions. Set aside.
  2. Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, salt and pepper and saute for 1 minute or until onions are translucent. Add flour to form a roux and cook for an additional minute.
  3. Add about 1/4 cup of the milk to the pot and whisk to work out any lumps from the roux. When lumps are worked out, add the remaining milk and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce has thickened, about 8 minutes.
  4. Add chopped spinach to sauce and cook an additional 2 minutes or until spinach has cooked down. Remove sauce from heat.
  5. Stir parmesan cheese into sauce. When cheese has melted, add cooked orzo to sauce and toss to coat. Garnish with extra parmesan cheese and *crumbled bacon and add *chicken to top or chop the chicken into bite size pieces, and serve immediately.