Chicken With Artichokes and Olives

Had to take a week off here, people visiting, not enough time to sit around and play on the internet.

Last week, I made some great stuff. Unfortunately, I was kind of lax in taking pictures, but I'll post the recipes anyway. The first dinner that I made in the week not only smelled amazing, but it was delicious, and really easy to make. I got it from Diabetic Connect. The original recipe calls for it to be made in a slow cooker. I kind of forgot to start it early enough to cook it in one, so I just used my dutch oven. I have been using this for a conversion: Slow Cooker to Dutch Oven Conversion. It's worked pretty well so far. Watch your heat, though. It can burn stuff pretty easily (as I have learned by trial and error). The result is very similar, just takes less time.

Try it out, and as usual, let me know what you think!

Chicken with Artichokes and Olives

Ingredients:

2 cups sliced, fresh mushrooms.
14 1/2-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup dry white wine or reduced sodium chicken broth
1 2 1/4 oz can sliced pitted ripe olives or 1/4 cup capers, drained (I used Spanish olives with pimentos. Very yummy)
2 to 3 tsp curry powder
1 tsp dried thyme, crushed (I didn't realize we were out of Thyme, so I used a spice call Ajwain. It was really tasty - apparently, an Indian spice, so it fit right in with the curry)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 8 or 9 oz package of frozen artichoke hearts (they didn't have frozen where I shop - so I got a can or two without the marinade)
2 1/2# skinless, boneless chicken breast halves and/or thighs
3 TB cornstarch
3 TB cold water

Directions:

In a 4 -5 quart slow cooker (or dutch oven), combine mushrooms, undrained tomatoes, chicken broth, onion, wine, olives, curry powder, thyme, salt and pepper.

Add artichokes.

Place chicken on top; spoon some of the tomato mixture over the chicken.

Cover and cook on low heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high heat for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. (In the dutch oven, I cooked at 325 for 1 hour)

Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken and artichokes to a serving bowl.

Cover chicken and artichokes with foil to keep warm.

If using a low heat setting, turn to high heat setting. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water. Stir into mixture in cooker. Cover and cook about 15 minutes more until thickened (I did this on the stove. Check on the time when you do it. I burned mine a little, even on medium heat.)

Spoon tomato mixture over chicken and artichokes.

Per Serving (8 servings):
Calories: 229, Fat: 4 g, Chol: 82 mg, Sod: 396 mg, Carb: 10 g, Pro: 35 g

Pork with Garlic Cream Sauce

Once in a while, I run into a recipe that seems incomplete. Like the timing is either off, or they left out a step. This is one of those. It comes from a new (to me) I site that I've been checking out called Diabetic Connect. We'll see how things go with it. I'm definitely going to have to tweak some things, I can already see that.

Without the tweaks, it was still really yummy and husband really loved it, too. We had the same ideas for the changes, too. A couple of things that were mentioned in the comments on the original recipe were about the cooking time on the meat. Since this is pork, you know that you want to make sure that it is really done. Not overlooked, of course, but done. It can get tricky with this kind of cooking because you don't want to keep taking it out of the oven with the broiler on, at the risk of losing some of the heat. And the meat is too thin to use a thermometer. The only thing I can suggest would be using your best judgement and experience with your broiler. In the recipe itself, it says to cook the meat under the broiler for 4 to 6 minutes. What it does not say is, do you flip the meat and if so, is that per side? Again, I suggest using your judgement. I did it on one side and found that I would probably fare better if I did it on both sides for the full 4 to 6 minutes on both sides. Otherwise, I ended up putting it back in the oven over and over.

As far as tweaking the recipe goes, we found a few things. I think I would salt the meat just little  and let it sit there for a few minutes to make it less tough in the cooking. See how you feel about it, but we both agreed a tiny bit of salt and more garlic would fare well in the cream sauce. We served this with quinoa cooked in chicken broth with peas. Super simple and quite tasty. The quinoa tasted a little off, but I think that's because it was cooked with the peas. those probably should have been cooked separately. 

And as usual - please tell me what you think or anything different you did.

Pork with Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:
1# pork tenderloin
2 tsp canola oil
2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted, divided
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP butter or stick margarine
1/3 C 1% milk
3 oz reduced fat cream cheese , cubed
1 TBSP minced chives

Directions:
Cut pork into 1" slices, flatten to 1/2" thickness

Place in a 15"x10"x1" baking dish, coated in non-stick cooking spray. Brush oil all over sides of pork, then sprinkle with half of the sesame seeds. 

Broil 4-6" from the heat for 3-5 minutes longer ir until meat juices run clear.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, saute garlic in butter for one minute. 

Stir in milk and cream cheese. Reduce heat, cook and stir until blended and smooth. Stir in chives.

Serve with pork.

Per Serving (3 oz cooked pork with 2 TBSP sauce):

Calories: 255, Fat: 13 g (6 sat), Chol,: 88mg, Sodium: 151 mg, Carb: 3 g, Fiber: Trace, Protein: 27 g

Diabetic Exchanges:
1 Fat

Beef-Broccoli Stir-Fry

There is always ways to improve things and of course you find this out after the fact. Like I've said before, I try recipes the way they'Re written the first time, then take notes when I eat them to make changes an add or subtract what I think should make it taste better the next time, or sometimes even make me want to eat it again. Sometimes I try things a few times, just to make sure I really don't like it before I give up on it. So far this week, we've had a couple different things that we really liked! but still could be improved upon, to us. You may think differently. Take my suggestions with a grain of salt (literally), and see for yourself, you may like the original recipe better.

We tried a "southwestern turkey burger", that was ok, but the additions may make it awesome. I didn't get a chance to do it for the blog, because Husband was working on it before I knew it. I will do it next time, though.

I made the broccoli beef a few nights ago and it was great. The only thing I would change is that I may marinate the meat longer. I had planned on making spaghetti squash instead of actual pasta, but since I had never used it before, I didn't realize that I needed to bake it first to get the "noodles" out of it. So that will be my first addition, and I will post reports on that when I try it. I may also use more garlic, but that's a personal preference. We like a lot of garlic. This made the house smell amazing.

Feel free to let me know what additions that you made and how they worked out for you. I really look forward to hearing from you, really!

This recipe is from Diabetic Living online, too. I'm telling you that they have fantastic recipes.

Beef-Broccoli Stir-Fry
Makes 4 - 1 1/4 cup stir fry and 1/2 cup spaghetti

 Ingredients:

2 TB reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 TB cornstarch
1TB white vinegar
1TB grated fresh ginger
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 clove garlic, minced (I used 3)
12 oz. boneless beef top sirloin steak
1 small bunch broccoli (about 1#)
2 tsp cooking oil (split)
2 medium carrots, bias sliced, 1/8 inch thick
3/4 cup reduced-sodium beef broth (as in previous recipes, I use Better Than Bullion, it gives it a richer flavor and you can adjust it)
4 green onions, bias sliced
2 cups hot cooked spaghetti squash or angel hair pasta

DIRECTIONS:
For marinade,  in a medium bowl (I actually used a large zip lock bag)' combine soy sauce, cornstarch, vinegar, ginger, crushed red pepper, and garlic.

Trim fat from meat. Cut meat across the grain into 1/8 inch thick slices.

Add meat to marinade; toss to coat. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes. Drain meat, discarding marinade,

Meanwhile, cut broccoli florets from stems. If desired, peels stems. Cut stems into 1/4 inch thick slices.

In wok or large skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add meat; cook and stir in hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until. Slightly pink in the center. Remove meat from wok or skillet.

Add the remaining teaspoon to the hot wok or skillet. Add broccoli and carrots; cook and stir for 1 minute.

Add beef broth; cook and stir for 5 to 7 minutes or until vegetable are crisp-tender, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of wok or skillet.

Return cooked meat to wok or skillet.

Add green onions; heat through.

Serve immediately over hot cooked spaghetti squash or pasta.

Per serving: 205 calories, 6 grams total fat, (1g sat. Fat), 40 mg chol., 659 mg sodium, 17 g card (4 g fiber), 22 G protein

Diabetic Exchanges: fat: .5; starch: 1; vegetables: 1; lean meat: 2.5

Tuscan Ravioli Stew

I got some new cookbooks right after the New Year started, and I spent 3 days going through them and marking what I would like to try. Then, I handed them off to the husband and told him to pick three-five meals he wanted to try and I would pick up the stuff for them when I went shopping. So he did. And all was well.

The first book we deicded to try (and remembered to take pictures of) is Our Best Diabetic Living Recipes. I picked this one up for several reasons: One, I have loved the recipes I've tried out of the magazine so much so far; Two, the other book I wanted was not available; and Three, the pictures were pretty. I made a very good decision. The first recipe we tried was this stew/soup. Now, I've never cooked or even eaten Broccoli Rabe (which I have also seen spelled raab), so I was a little unsure how it was going to taste or even how to cut it up. But this was by far, one of the best soup/stews that I have ever eaten, and it was easy to make. Another thing that we think helped, was freshly grated Asiago cheese. Instead of buying that prepackaged stuff, we went to New Seasons and got a big hunk of it and grated it ourselves. And then we started using it on everything. See what you think.

Totally worth every penny and the time and effort

Tuscan Ravioli Stew
makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large leek, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 1/2 oz. no-salt added stewed tomatoes, undrained*
1 14 oz. can beef broth**
3/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
5 cups coarsely chopped broccoli rabe or Swiss chard (about 6 oz)
1 9 oz. package refrigerated chicken or cheese filled ravioli***
1 Tablespoon snipped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)****
1/4 cup finely shredded Asiago Cheese

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add leek and garlic; cook about 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in undrained tomatoes, beef broth, the water, and if desired, crushed red pepper; bring to boiling.

 

2. Stir in broccoli Rabe, ravioli and rosemary. return to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes or until broccoli rabe and ravioli are tender. Ladle into shallow bowls. If desired, garnish with rosemary sprigs. Top individual servings with Asiago cheese.

 

*I used cut up stewed tomatoes, rather than whole stewed tomatoes

**Again, I used Better Than Bullion, it just has better flavor and you don't have to worry about waste

***We bought our fresh ravioli at New Seasons, but couldn't decide on a flavor, so we got Cheese, artichoke and olive; and chicken mushroom, I think. Both were fantastic. I highly suggest freshly made (like that day, if you can), it takes less time to cook, and the flavors are usually amazing.

****Fresh Rosemary tastes great. Problem is? I don't like sticks in my food. The dried spices are easy to grind down and still have that flavor, so that's what I do. But I don't need it as a garnish. All it is, is for looking anyway, so unless you're having the queen for dinner, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

How fabulous and tasty does this look to you?

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I am not a big fan of Swiss cheese. I only eat it in a few things - Reuben Sandwiches and this recipe. The husband seems to like it no matter what, but I just think it has the wrong taste for me. I am broadening my horizons with cheese, don't get me wrong, but as a girl raised on American cheese, this always tasted a little weird to me.

That said, I got this recipe from dLife. And it's really tasty. We use Black Forest Ham, and a fairly high quality (and sometimes, Guyere) Swiss. We have also finally been able to afford Foster Farms chicken, instead of the icky stuff (fatty, and veiny) that comes in a bulk bag. Things are starting to taste better! This is a fairly easy recipe to make, and we served it with lightly steamed broccoli. Fabulous dinner!

Chicken Cordon Bleu
(Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients
8 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 small)
2 oz sliced, smoked ham , cut in half
2 oz Cheese, Swiss, reduced fat, thin slice, cut in half
1 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp white all purpose flour
1 cooking spray
1/3 cup fresh chopped onion*
2 1/2 oz Soup, cream of chicken, condensed, canned (1/4 can)

 
 1. Flatten each piece of chicken to about 1/4-inch thickness by placing the chicken breasts in between 2 sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap and then using a meat mallet or rolling pin to flatten them out.

2. Next, place one-half slice each of ham and cheese in the center of each chicken breast half. Roll up lengthwise, and then secure with wooden toothpicks.

 

3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Dip each chicken roll in egg and then dredge in flour. Place the chicken rolls seam side down into a shallow casserole dish coated with cooking spray.

4. Bake for 20 minutes. While baking, combine the onion and soup, stirring well. After the first 20-minute baking period, pour the soup mixture over the chicken and then continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the chicken is done.

*If you prefer, mushrooms may be substituted for the onion in this recipe.

Yummy!

New Years Good Luck Pork and Sauerkraut

This year for New Years, I decided to do things up right. I am part German, and I read all the superstitions and things that different cultures do to insure a good New Year. I found this little ditty on Shine:

"The custom of eating pork on New Year's is based on the idea that pigs symbolize progress. The animal pushes forward, rooting itself in the ground before moving. Roast suckling pig is served for New Year's in Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, and Austria—Austrians are also known to decorate the table with miniature pigs made of marzipan. Different pork dishes such as pig's feet are enjoyed in Sweden while Germans feast on roast pork and sausages. Pork is also consumed in Italy and the United States, where thanks to its rich fat content, it signifies wealth and prosperity."

and

"Cooked greens, including cabbage, collards, kale, and chard, are consumed at New Year's in different countries for a simple reason — their green leaves look like folded money, and are thus symbolic of economic fortune. The Danish eat stewed kale sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, the Germans consume sauerkraut (cabbage) while in the southern United States, collards are the green of choice. It's widely believed that the more greens one eats the larger one's fortune next year."

So, I got to work looking for recipes that would have something along these lines. I found a few and decided to kind of mix and match. What I ended up making was glorious. At least it made the husband happy, and he hates sauerkraut. I will say this... the flavor was excellent, but the keilbasa ended up not cooking very nicely. It was kind of a mealy texture and over salty. But it added a really great flavor to everything else.

Good Luck Pork and Sauerkraut for New Years Day

2-3 # Pork Roast
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Fresh Thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 # Keilbasa, cut in 2-3 inch slices
32 oz. Sauerkraut
1 bottle of beer - a sweeter beer is better, we used an apricot ale.

Turn on broiler.
Cover roast in olive oil and sprinkle the thyme, salt and pepper on it.
Put roast in over for about ten minutes, until it starts showing some brown edges.

While that is cooking, get the crock pot ready: spray it non-stick spray, put the sauerkraut along the bottom, and then lay the keilbasa around the edges.

When the roast is done, Put it right in the middle.
Pour the beer over the whole thing.

Cook on low for about 8-9 hours.

We tried to eat the keilbasa, but it just had that weird texture, and I could feel my ankles swelling as I ate, so I threw it away.

The thing I love about meat that gets cooked in the crock pot is that it just falls apart. No knives needed, just forks. The flavor on this was really good. I may make it another time, not just for New Years.

Turkey Vegetable Soup

There is no wrong time of year to make soup. At least that's what I think. I love soup. I could eat it every day. Seriously. My dad told me once, that when I was a kid, I used to try to order soup with every meal when we'd go out. Of course, I also tried to order the most expensive on the menu, but that's another story (and really, who could blame me? It always sounded good).

I started making my own broth from chicken and turkey bones only a few years ago, and I've never gone any other way. It's so wonderful. And the beauty of it is, you can make it with any spices you want, or none at all. You can what you want, you can take away what you don't want. This particular version, I went with the less is more method. By the time I started working on this broth, I was pretty tired, but I made it, and just added what I had on hand, or what I wanted. It's nice and warming during the winter and the broth is great to keep handy for future recipes (which I did). You can do this with leftover chicken or turkey carcasses (I haven't made any beef or pork broth yet, so I'm not really clear on how to pull that off).

Turkey Vegetable Soup

For the Broth:
1 Turkey carcass with a little meat left on it
2 celery stalks, cut in halves or thirds
2 carrots, cut in halves or thirds
1 onion, quartered
about 3-4 garlic cloves, quartered
Any spices you like (I use Poultry Seasoning, Thyme, Oregano, Parsley and Celery Seed)
Sea Salt
Pepper
2 bay leaves

Heat the oven to 375 degrees ( I sometimes will go higher, but I like mine to get almost burned before I use it, it also depends on how much meat you have on there). Spray a pan that will fit your turkey carcass with non-stick coating. Place turkey carcass in the pan and put in the over for 1-2 hours. I do really like my bones to be crispy. But make sure they are roasted well.

Boil water in a large pot - for as much broth as you want. I use a couple gallons at least. You can do this one of two ways - put the carcass directly in the pot of water, or wrap it in some cheesecloth. I put mine directly into the water. add the vegetables, and spices, salt, pepper and bay leaves.

Turn down to simmer. I leave mine for a couple of hours to get maximum flavor. Sometimes, after I do that, I will add some water to the broth so there is even more for other cooking projects. Not too much water, but maybe a few cups or so. It doesn't dilute it too much.

Remove the carcass and vegetables from the pot. Put them on a plate and let them cool before tossing them out. At this time, you should have a beautiful golden broth, somewhat like this:

Now, is when you get to be creative. I do not make measurements, because it's up to you. But here are some options to add.

For the Soup:
Celery
Carrots
Onion
Garlic
Turnips
Potatoes
Mushrooms
Green Beans
Snow peas
Kidney Beans
Corn
Tomatoes
Fresh noodles
Wild rice

The list is really endless (and yes, I have put all this stuff in my soup at one time before, and it was fantastic)

Also add some turkey meat to it. Usually about two cups or so will do you just fine. Cook it until just heated through. Then, you'll have a very good soup, and it freezes extremely well.

This particular batch, I ended up using the leftover veggies and turkey from the Pasties I made the night before. And it turned out just fine. I hope you enjoy yours.

Turkey Pasties

No, this isn't a mis-spelling. It's not supposed to be pastries. Pasty. Pasties. The idea just makes me giggle. With more leftover turkey, I decided that my husband and I were going to make these. He helped me with the crust.

But first, let me tell you a story. Pull up a pillow and your blanky and get comfy. It's not long, but it's kind of cool. My husband is of Welsh/Cornish descent. He remembers Christmas Eve with his Grandma making Pasties. There were made with beef and potatoes. They are filled pie crust and almost look like Calzones. The husband told me that his Grandma used to make these for his Grandpa for lunch. They would be wrapped in tinfoil, and they were perfect to take down in the mines in Montana. You could eat them with one hand, and generally, they were still warm at lunchtime.

Since I have met the husband, he has been telling me how wonderful these pasties were. I thought about them, and even one time, my mom and I went for high tea, and they were served. While they were good, they were somewhat dry. I found out later that they should not have been. so, every year, I have been hoping that the husband would make them for me around Christmas time. He never has. So I finally asked him why not. He told me that while he watched his grandma make them, he never learned how. So, with that in mind, and leftover turkey in mind, I looked for a recipe so I could make these special treats for him.

I found a recipe that sounded easy enough for a beginner, yet yummy enough to work for the husband without beef or traditional. I ran it by him and he said it sounded good. I got this recipe from Leftover Lovers.

Leftover Turkey Pasties

Ingredients: 

For the filling

• 1 cup carrots, sliced in 1/4″ rounds
• 1/2 cup celery stalks, sliced 1/4″
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 4 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
• 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced*
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cups leftover turkey, chopped
• salt and pepper (to taste)

For the dough**
Use leftover pie crust or use the following ingredients:

• 1 cup shortening
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 cups flour
• 6 T water

Preparation:

In a skillet, sauté the carrots and celery in the water, butter, and chicken bouillon for 5 minutes.

The one that would eventually belong to the husband

The one that would eventually be mine

Add potatoes, onion, leftover turkey meat and poultry seasoning.

Potatoes and onions

Turnips and onions

 

Husband's potato mixture

 

my turnip mixture

Salt and pepper and mix well.
Divide into fourths.
Mix dough ingredients and roll into four 10- inch circles.
Put the meat mixture on one side of the dough.

Husband's pasty

my pasty

Fold the other half of the dough over and seal with fingers or a fork.

two down, two to go

Aren't they so cute and shiny?

Bake 1 hour at 375°.

The beautifully finished product. Husband said they were perfect. And wonderful.

Our initials are forked in on the top so we could tell who's was who's.

Serves 4.

*I mixed this up a little. Potatoes, as we all know, can be the devil for us diabetics, so I have learned to substitute turnips. They don't taste bad in most cases, and can easily be substituted with no taste or texture difference. I gave the husband two potatoes and I ate two turnips. 

**I used a pre-made refrigerated crust. We rolled it into balls and rolled it out with a rolling pin, cut each one in half, and used it that way.