Mashed Potato Pancake

2 cups cold mashed potatoes
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1. Combine potatoes, eggs, flour, and garlic powder in a bowl. 2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; fry potato mixture in skillet, pressing with a spatula to flatten evenly. Cover and cook until bottom is crispy, about 10 minutes; invert onto serving platter.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

This was so great and healthy! It's meant for 2 but I'd double it ;)

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon white sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (we used 3 and butterfly them (cut in 1/2 length wise so they are thinner and cook faster/more evenly!)

2 tablespoons butter

 

1 tablespoon olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

In a small bowl, combine all the spices.
Flatten your chicken breasts with a meat mallet to allow for even cooking.
Coat both sides of flattened chicken breasts with the spice mixture generously.
In a pan, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat.
Saute chicken until golden brown, about 6 minutes on each side.
While chicken is cooking, squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken.
Continue cooking stirring frequently to coat evenly with sauce.

Polenta Cake with plums

This was a great dessert!  Make your own whipped cream and it's even better :)

(Gluten Free too)

Ingredients

• 10  red or black plums
• 1/4  cup  plus 5 tablespoons sugar
• 2  cups  whole milk
• 1  tablespoon  vanilla extract
• 1  stick unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1  cup  instant polenta
• 1/2  cup  honey
• 4  large eggs, separated
• whipped cream, for serving

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Butter a 9-inch square baking dish. Slice the plums into a bowl. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of the sugar and toss; set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, over low heat, warm the milk and vanilla. Add the butter, zest, and salt. Bring to a simmer. Whisking constantly, slowly stir in the polenta. Cook, still whisking, for 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the honey, egg yolks, and 3 tablespoons of the remaining sugar and whisk until combined. Let cool until lukewarm.
3. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, beat the egg whites and the remaining sugar until soft peaks form. With a spatula, fold the egg white mixture into the polenta mixture.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared dish. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes. Slice and top with the plums and whipped cream.

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

This makes enough for 2 or 3.

It only takes about 4 hrs. total in crock-pot so may be a put on at lunch type...not all day.  Served with rice :)

Ingredients:
1 lb uncooked lean & trimmed boneless top round roast of beef, sliced thin and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup beef broth
½ cup low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 T sesame oil (found by the other Asian products)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T cornstarch
2 cups frozen broccoli florets/pieces, unthawed

Directions:
1.    Combine the broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and garlic in your slow cooker and stir together to combine. Add the uncooked beef pieces and mix until the beef is covered by the liquid.
2.    Turn crock pot temperature to low and cover. Cook for 4 hours (the original recipe says 6 but my beef was perfect after 4 hours, so check to see if yours is done at 4 and if not you can add more time) until the beef is cooked through.
3.    Remove 4 tablespoons of the liquid from your slow cooker to a bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Once combined, add the cornstarch mixture back into the slow cooker and mix in thoroughly. Add the frozen broccoli and stir in. Re-cover the slow cooker and cook on low for another half hour.

Chicken and Sausage Stew with Polenta

4 tablespoons olive oil
3 chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
2 or 3 garlic cloves chopped
1 tube of bulk Italian Sausage (usually by the breakfast sausage/bacon)
salt and black pepper
4 teaspoons chopped rosemary
1 small onion chopped
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
6  or so carrots-peeled and sliced
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup red wine

Heat oil on high in large pot.  Add chicken, garlic, sausage, salt, pepper and rosemary.  Toss to coat well.  Place lid on pot and cook on medium heat unit both meats are cooked.  Add the onion and tomatoes, carrtots, broth and wine (I also added some chopped bell peppers we had).  Bring mixture to a boil then reduce to simmer, cover, cook for 1 1/2 hours.

Buy a box of pre made polenta and heat up as directed or buy the instant and make on own as directed on box.  You can cut up slices of polenta and put it right in the stew.

Remove and serve with polenta and parmesan cheese.

Italian Chicken Bake

Ingredients: 

3 or 4 chicken breasts (I got 3 large ones and cut in half because they were thick and I wanted better cooking time)

4 roma tomatoes

2 or 3 garlic cloves chopped finely

small jar of artichoke hearts drained

7 or so leaves of basil 

shredded mozzarella cheese

olive oil, salt and pepper, sugar, flour

Core and chop about 4-5 roma tomatoes. 

Thinly slice two cloves of garlic.

Drain a small jar of artichoke hearts.

Put the chicken in a glass baking dish.

Place all other ingredients in a bowl and pour in a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a generous amount of S&P, a teaspoon of sugar, a couple tablespoons of flour {since the chicken will produce so much liquid}.

Place the tomato mixture in with the boneless skinless chicken breasts {that are generously seasoned with S&P}. Place in a 350 degree oven and bake until the chicken is almost done (just barely pink when cut into). 

Take the almost done chicken out of the oven and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top. Place the chicken under the broiler for a few minutes {keep an eye on it!} until the cheese is golden brown and the vegetables are caramelized.

When you pull the chicken out of the oven, sprinkle some fresh basil on top and the heat of the dish will wilt the basil.

You can serve with pasta but we enjoyed it with biscuits.

Healthy Alfredo--was amazing!

Healthy Fettuccine Alfredo

Author: Pinch of Yum

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  15 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Serves: 8

 

Ingredients (cut in half if you are serving 3 or 4-it makes a lot)

• 1 lb. uncooked fettuccine noodles (I used spinach ones)
• 3 small heads cauliflower
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 cup starchy boiling water from pasta pot
• I added some cooked shrimp

Instructions

1. Chop the cauliflower. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil over medium high heat and add cauliflower. Cook until cauliflower is soft, about 15 minutes. In my experience, the longer you cook it, the smoother the sauce will be. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes or until soft and fragrant.
2. As the garlic and cauliflower are cooking, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the fettuccine according to directions on package, reserving some of the starchy water to add to the sauce later.
3. Transfer cauliflower to a blender with about 2 cups of the broth. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your blender. Add the sauteed garlic, salt, nutmeg, and black pepper and puree until very smooth, about 5 minutes. Once the mixture is moving, stream the olive oil into the blender. Add more broth or water if the mixture is too thick to move through the blender. You want it to turn through the blender easily. When puree is very smooth, transfer back to the butter/garlic skillet.
4. Add the cream and cook over low heat. Add the starchy pasta water (or regular water if you’re not making pasta) and keep warm until ready to serve. Combine noodles and sauce in a large pot or skillet and serve immediately.

Notes

The sauce will “dry out” a little bit as it cools on the pasta. Adding a little water to the leftovers will help make it creamy again.