Lemon Chicken with Spinach, Mushrooms and Red Peppers

Adapted to suit our taste buds...mmmm, this one is yummy comfort food! Excellent served over mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup plus 1/2 Tablespoon whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts - rinsed, trimmed of all fat, and patted dry
1 red pepper, cut into strips
8 mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
3 hands full of fresh baby spinach (preferably organic)
1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
1 lemon


Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. In a plastic zipper bag toss 1/2 cup of flour, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken one piece at a time and toss to coat. Place each piece of chicken into the heated olive oil. Cook until it is no longer pink in the center, turning often and covering with a lid if necessary.

While the chicken is cooking, heat the remaining 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in another skillet over medium heat. Toss in the red pepper and mushrooms and cook until they soften. Add the spinach and garlic and cook until the spinach is wilted. Turn off the heat but allow to sit on the warm burner.

Once the chicken is cooked, remove from skillet and place on a plate and keep warm. Using the same skillet that the chicken was cooked in, pour in the broth and wine and stir to loosen the cooked particles from the bottom of the skillet. Slice the lemon in half and squeeze each half into your hand over the skillet, allowing the juice to go into the broth mixture but capturing the lemon seeds. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of minced garlic and stir until boiling. Using a wire whisk, slowly whisk in the 1/2 Tablespoon of flour and stir until the mixture thickens.

To serve, I recommend serving this on top of mashed potatoes. Divide the mashed potatoes onto four serving plates. Top the mashed potatoes with the red pepper/spinach mixture. Place one chicken breast on top of the red pepper/spinach mixture. Spoon the sauce over each chicken breast.

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

I prefer these warm and with the chocolate chips, my daughter prefers them warm and without. If you make these, let me know which way you like them best.

Ingredients

(makes about 8 muffins)

1 1/2 cups of quick cook oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar in the raw
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/3 cup 2% milk
2 very ripe bananas, broken into chunks
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup quick cook oats (yes, more oats go into this)
1/3 cup Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips (I use 60% cacao)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a muffin pan heavily with non-stick cooking spray.

Using a food processor, pulverize the 1 1/2 cups of quick cook oats into flour. Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar and pulse until mixed. Add the canola oil, milk, banana chunks, and vanilla and mix until there are no more banana chunks. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of quick oats and chocolate chips and pulse just a couple of times to mix.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Almost Amish-Style Kettle Corn

Oh yeah, kettle corn! An Amish couple taught me how to make this. You can make it on the stove, grill, or campfire, just make sure you use a LARGE POT WITH A LID! The amount in this recipe will certainly get you through a good movie.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup popcorn
sugar to taste (I suggest using 1 Tablespoon for your first batch to see if it's enough)
salt to taste


Heat the oil and three kernels of popcorn in a LARGE pot with a LID. When the kernels begin to pop, add the rest of the popcorn, sugar, and a large pinch of salt. Shake the pot around as the kernels pop so that they do not burn and the sugar and salt are evenly distributed. When the kernels sound like they are no longer popping remove the pot from the heat. Allow to sit for a minute to make sure that no more pop when you open the lid.

Transfer hot popcorn to a large bowl and sprinkle with additional salt, if you choose. Best served hot!

**This is almost Amish-style because they also use butter flavoring. They add this when they add the popcorn and sugar.

Crock Pot Chipotle Veggies with Chicken

I dug through the deep freeze and came up with a bag of chipotle veggies and chicken breasts. Mixed together with a few other ingredients and tossed into a crock pot...yummo!!

Ingredients

1 bag (at least 4 servings) of frozen chipotle vegetables (fire-roasted corn, peppers, beans, and onions) or any Mexican-style vegetables
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes, do not drain
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, thawed and trimmed of all fat
chili powder
non-stick cooking spray
1 12 oz. can tomato paste
4 servings of cooked rice
crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, and shredded sharp cheddar cheese, for garnish


Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Mix chipotle vegetables, tomatoes, and garlic in crock pot. Take the empty can from the diced tomatoes, fill it with water, and dump this into the vegetable mixture and stir. Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with chili powder. Cook on low 7-8 hours. Half an hour before serving, mix in the tomato paste.

To serve, place cooked rice on a plate or in a large bowl. Top with one chicken breast, the vegetable mixture, shredded cheddar, crushed tortilla chips, and a dollop of sour cream.