Chicken, Olives and Artichokes - Hunter Style

When I decided to make this dish, I was thinking of a chicken cacciatore that I used to get from a local supermarket. They would make it with big chunks of white breast meat, all the colors of bell peppers and lots of whole garlic cloves. It was delicious. Since I was making this for my mom, I decided to leave out the peppers because they don't agree with her.

Because we both love artichokes and olives, I decided to sub them for the peppers. As a matter of fact, my mom makes a chicken and artichoke dish very similar to this, only without the sauce. Since I had a jar of sauce that needed to be used, I whipped this up. It is really good over pasta or you could eat it as is, with a big piece of Italian bread for mopping up the sauce.


Chicken, Olives and Artichokes - Hunter Style
by Mixed Salad Annie Serves 4

3 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into about 1 1/2" chunks
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 jar of black olives, drained and rinsed
1 jar of artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and halved
12 cloves of garlic, (very large ones halved)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 jar marinara sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 sprigs rosemary

Add the flour, garlic powder and paprika to a large ziplock bag. Season the chicken pieces with the salt and pepper and add them to the flour in the bag. Shake the chicken to coat all the pieces. Remove from bag and shake off excess flour and set aside.

Heat one tablespoon of oil and rosemary sprigs on low heat in large dutch oven or large deep skillet for about 5 minutes. Add the olives and artichokes cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the mixture from the pan with a slotted spoon to a bowl and add the remaining olive oil to the pan. Turn the heat up to medium/high and add chicken pieces.

Brown the chicken on all sides and de-glaze the pan with the wine. When the wine evaporates, add the chicken broth and sauce. Add the artichoke mixture back to the pan and stir to combine. Lower the heat, and simmer slowly for about 20-25 minutes. Remove and disgard the rosemary sprigs. Serve over pasta or with Italian bread.

Fairy Tale Vegetable Casserole

Eat Your Vegetables...And Live Happily Ever After

I finally made it to my local farmers market this year. I know pretty sad, huh. I don't know what took me so long. I actually do love shopping at the local farms, stands and farmers markets for garden fresh produce. It is more of an experience, than a shopping trip. You get to see and smell all the fabulous fruits and vegetables bursting with color at their absolute freshest state!

You also get to learn about produce that you've never had before, like the fairy tale eggplant. These beautiful mini purple and white eggplant caught my eye right away. And what a perfect name for them. They are so fun and whimsical that they could be in a "fairy tale". There were several "regular shoppers" of the farmers market ready to give out their recipes using this little gem. They all sounded great, but the one I liked the sound of, involved steaming the eggplant along with zucchini, summer squash, garden tomatoes, and fresh herbs together and then baking it all in a casserole with cheese. YUM! I came up with my own healthy version and it was fantastic!


Fairy Tale Vegetable Casserole
by Mixed Salad Annie

4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large shallot, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 fairy tale eggplant, 1/2 inch thick crosswise slices
1 medium zucchini, 1/2 inch thick crosswise slices
1 small summer squash, 1/2 inch thick crosswise slices
1 large garden tomato, diced
1 can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and quartered, Optional
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped and divided
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped and divided
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 small bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup pecorino Romano cheese, grated

Place a heavy pan or dutch oven over medium heat; add the oil, shallot and garlic. Stir and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the eggplant, squash, zucchini, artichokes, tomatoes, 6 tablespoons basil, 3 tablespoons parsley, pepper flakes, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Stir to combine; cover and cook over low heat until vegetables are softened, about 10-13 minutes.

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and add the vegetable mixture. Top with the breadcrumbs and grated cheese. Spray the top lightly with cooking spray and place baking dish in oven. Bake for about 10 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown. Sprinkle the remaining basil and parsley on top and serve.

Chicken and Artichoke Pasta Supreme

I HAVE A SECRET...

Did I get your attention? Good, because this is important. It's buttermilk. That's my secret. It is a super ingredient to use in low-fat cooking. I have always used buttermilk in baked goods with great results, and even as a marinade for chicken. But I had never tried using it as part of a sauce until now.
I have to say I was a bit nervous about how it was going to turn out, because I feared that it might curdle or separate. No problems though, it turned out great. The sauce had a nice silky texture and a bit of a tang. Give it a try.

Chicken and Artichoke Pasta Supreme
by Mixed Salad Annie

1 pound chicken boneless skinless chicken breast or breast tenders, cut into small pieces
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon chicken seasoning
4 cloves garlic, chopped (divided)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespon extra-virgin olive oil
1 leek, washed, dried and chopped
1/2 pound egg noodles, or your favorite pasta
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons margarine (suggested: Smart Balance Buttery Spread)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
1 cup low-fat sharp Cheddar
1/3 cup grated sharp Pecorino Romano cheese
1 can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and cut into quarters
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

Place chicken pieces in a resealable plastic bag and add buttermilk, chicken seasoning, 2 cloves chopped garlic and salt and pepper. Marinate at least 1/2 or overnight in the refrigerator.

Place a pot of water on to boil for noodles.

Remove chicken from buttermilk, reserving 1/2 cup of buttermilk and pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels. Heat a medium pan over medium to medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and chicken and season with salt and pepper. Saute a couple of minutes then add leeks and cook another 3-4 minutes until leeks are tender and chicken is almost cooked through. Remove from pan and reserve.

To boiling pasta water, add kosher salt to season the cooking water and add noodles or pasta. Cook until al dente.

While pasta cooks, re-heat the same pan that the chicken was cooked in over medium heat. Add margarine and melt, then add the remaining 2 cloves of chopped garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Add flour, and whisk together over heat until bubbles form and cook a minute more. Whisk in wine, reduce 30 seconds. Whisk in stock, then reserved 1/2 cup buttermilk. Turn up heat a bit and bring to a boil. Lower heat and add cheeses. Stir until cheese melts into sauce. Simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the reserved chicken and leeks, artichokes and simmer another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Drain noodles or pasta. Add to chicken mixture and stir to combine.

Adjust seasonings, transfer to a large serving platter, sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.

Mom's Chicken Marsala

Always Good!

One thing you can always count on in this uncertain world is Mom's cooking. This is one dish that my Mom always makes and it's always delicious. She has two versions: Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms and Chicken Marsala with Artichokes. The ingredients tend to change depending on what she has in the house. If she doesn't have mushrooms than she will make it with artichokes. Or if she ran out of marsala wine, then white wine or even vermouth will do. Sometimes she will use chicken breast cut into pieces or more commonly tenderloins.
And it amazes me that no matter what the change, it is always equally good!

Mom never really measures anything, so it was a little difficult to get the recipe on paper. But she did her best and now I offer it to all of you!

Mom's Chicken Marsala

1 lb. chicken tenderloins, cut in half
4-5 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1/2 cup mushrooms, preferably portobello or porcini, (but you could use button), sliced thin
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt-free all purpose seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried parsley, or 1 tsp. fresh, plus more for garnish
2-3 tbls. olive oil
1/3 cup marsala wine
1 can low-sodium chicken broth (preferably Swanson)
1/2 cup black olives, left whole or cut in half
1/2 cup green olives, left whole or cut in half

Add the flour, salt, pepper, all purpose seasoning, and parsley to a large zip lock plastic bag. Add the chicken and shake until all the chicken is coated.

Add the olive oil to a large pan over medium high heat; add garlic and brown them lightly, remove from pan and set aside. Next, add the mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes, remove from pan and set aside.

Remove any excess flour from the chicken; line them up in the pan so they are separated and quickly brown them on both sides.
Add back the garlic and mushrooms to the pan. Add the marsala and cook for a minute or two, until the alcohol burns off. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes.

Add black and green olives and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

To thicken the sauce, add some of the leftover flour from the plastic bag to a pyrex measuring cup with 1 tablespoon cold water. Mix and add to the chicken; cook for 2-3 minutes more. Serve with noodles and top with fresh parsley.

Stuffed Shells with a Twist!

Stuffed with Flavor

This recipe was billed as a make ahead dish. You are supposed to prepare everything until it's ready to bake and then wrap it well and store it in the freezer. It's ready to bake when you are!

The idea appealed to me because I like to have meals ready for busy work nights. But the thing that got me to make this recipe is the ingredients... Artichokes, ground turkey breast and ricotta cheese. Yum, yum and more yum!

Plus it's really a healthy recipe. The artichokes provide the vegetable, the turkey breast is so lean and is packed with protein, the tomato sauce is a great source of lycopene and the pasta provides the carbs, which by the way are not all that bad for you. (As long as you eat them in moderation). Ok, I know the cheese is fattening, but it is also loaded with protein and I use the low fat version to keep things light.

I did change the recipe slightly, as noted and I substituted homemade marinara for the arrabbiata sauce. I also split the recipe between two pans; I baked one and froze the other.

Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce
Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

1 (12-ounce) box jumbo pasta shells (recommended: Barilla)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup) (I used shallots)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound ground turkey (I only used 1/2 pound)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon
1 (8 to 10-ounce) package frozen artichokes, thawed and coarsely chopped (I cooked mine according to package directions before chopping)
1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese (I used low-fat)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan (I used Pecorino Romano)
2 eggs, lightly beaten (I used 3 egg whites)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (I used 2 Tlbs. of a combination of fresh Basil, Thyme and Rosemary )
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used 1/4 cup)
5 cups Arrabbiata Sauce, recipe follows (I used homemade Marinara sauce)
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella (about 5 ounces) (I only used about 1/2 - 3/4 cup low-fat mozzarella)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and partially cook until tender but still very firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain pasta.

Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and the garlic and cook until the onions are soft and starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the ground turkey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is slightly golden and cooked through. Add the artichoke hearts and stir to combine. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl combine the cooled turkey mixture with the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, parsley, and the remaining salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

To stuff the shells, cover the bottom of a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish with 1 cup of Arrabbiata sauce. Take a shell in the palm of your hand and stuff it with a large spoonful of turkey mixture, about 2 tablespoons. Place the stuffed shell in the baking dish. Continue filling the shells until the baking dish is full, about 24 shells. Drizzle the remaining Arrabbiata Sauce over the shells, top with the grated mozzarella. If freezing, cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 day and up to 1 month.

To bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake until the shells are warmed through and the cheese is beginning to brown, about 60 minutes (20 minutes if shells are unfrozen.)

Note: If you don't like your pasta to get dry around the edges cover with foil until the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Arrabbiata Sauce:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 ounces sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups jarred or fresh marinara sauceHeat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until tender, about 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce and red pepper flakes and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let cool until ready to use.

Yield: approximately 6 cups