Chicken with Scallion-Lime Sauce and Sweet Carrot Rice

I'm a Rachel Ray fan and bought her book, "Express Lane Meals" about 2 years ago. I've tried only 1 of her recipes so far, so I decided it's time to try another! While working with my nephew and putting together his meals, I came across this one and decided to try it. It's kinda "fancy"! Definitely a good dish, but has a really different taste due to the coriander so it is absolutely worth posting. I don't make a lot of dished with coriander, but this one turned out nice. I can see myself making this one for me and my husband on a Saturday night when we want something different and more special.

This one is Gluten Free, and let me just say this. The reason most of my dishes are Gluten free is because I cook with non-processed food 99% of the time. The Chicken Stock I use is Gluten Free. A lot of chicken stock has wheat in it, so please read your labels. Fresh ingredients are so much better in taste and in nutritional value. I highly recommend if you are going to cook, use fresh ingredients.

Ok, so this one has multiple steps so again I took several pictures.  Have fun with this one!

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large carrots, peeled and grated
• Salt and pepper for taste
• 1 1/2 cups white rice (I use Basmati rice)
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• Zest and juice of 2 limes
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 3 bunches of scallions
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

• Heat a medium pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium high heat.  Add about 1 tablespoon of the extra virgin olive oil, once around the pan.
• Add the grated carrots and a little salt and pepper and cook, stirring for 1 minute.  
• Add the rice and stir to coat in the oil and distribute the carrots.

                                 

• Add 2 1/2 cups of the chicken stock.  Bring the stock to a boil, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to a simmer.  Cook for 15 to 18 minutes, until the rice is tender.
• Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  While the pan is heating up, combine 2 tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil, the thyme, lime zest, salt and pepper in a shallow dish.

                                

• Add the chicken breasts to the skillet and cook until done all the way through.

                                

• Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover it loosely with aluminum foil. 
• Return the skillet to the heat; add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
• Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and coriander.

                                

• Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute.  Add the lime juice and the remaining 1/2 cup of chicken stock and continue to cook for about 3 minutes. Turn the heat off and add the parsley and butter, stirring and shaking the pan until the butter is completely melted.
• To serve, slice the chicken on a slight angle.  Divide the rice among 4 serving plates and top each pile of rice with slices of chicken breast.
• Pour some scallion-lime sauce over each chicken breasts.

                            

Turkey Parmesan

So, for the past 7 weeks my nephew has hired me to make a weeks worth of meals for him. He's a pro level athlete and it's that time of year where he focuses on lean body mass and really trains hard. Because healthy food choices are important to me and I know a lot about nutrition, he asked me to take on this task. I end up cooking literally all weekend, but it's fun and I get to research and experiment with new recipes.

Because I am such a huge fan of The South Beach Diet recipes, I have been going to those old recipes a lot these last 7 weeks. High protein, lower carbs and good fats are the focus of South Beach.

I had never tried this Turkey Parmesan recipe before today, but I'm glad I did. I love this recipe mainly because instead of using bread crumbs, you use crushed pine nuts. OMG - amazing taste! What a fabulous substitute! This one took me a little bit of time to prep and make, so I took more pictures as I cooked. This one is Gluten free, too!

You can serve this over pasta if you want, but you could just eat this with a side salad.  If you are Gluten free and want this over pasta, use your Gluten free pasta.

Enjoy this one.  The nutritional information is below!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups low-sugar marinara sauce (you can use a jar version or make my Homemade Spaghetti Sauce recipe)
• 1/2 cup pine nuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup) NOTE:  I always buy a hard block of Parmesan and grate it myself.
• 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 1 pound turkey cutlets, about 1/3 inch thick
• 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

• Heat oven to broil.
• Bring your marinara sauce to low simmer in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
• Stir together pine nuts, Parmesan and Italian seasoning in a wide, shallow dish.

Season turkey breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. then dredge both sides in the nut mixture (make sure your pine nuts are chopped at this point), pressing to adhere.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add turkey and cook until the turkey breasts reach 165 degrees. If the nuts brown too quickly, turn down your heat.

• Once the turkey breasts reach 165 degrees, place the turkey breasts in a baking pan, top evenly with mozzarella and broil until the cheese melts, about 30 seconds.
• Spoon 1/2 cup of warm marinara sauce on top of each turkey breast.  
• Serve over a plate of pasta or eat turkey breasts with side salad.

                                 

Nutritional Value:

Per Serving: 380 calories, 21g fat, 4g saturated fat, 39g protein, 10g carbohydrate, 3g dietary fiber, 650mg sodium

Pesto Sauce

I've had several requests this week to post my homemade pesto recipe. My pesto recipe is dairy free, but has a really nice taste. Sometimes you get tired of using a jar version of pesto. I like to use this pesto recipe for my pesto chicken thighs. So good!

If you really want to add the Parmesan cheese, you can or you could use a dairy free Parmesan cheese. It tastes fantastic without it though. And yes, it's Gluten free :)

Ingredients

• 3 packages of fresh basil
• 1 cup pine nuts
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Pour 1/4 tsp olive oil in a skillet.  Lightly toast the pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes.
2. Place all ingredients except for the oil in a small food processor or blender.
3. Slowly incorporate the oil while the machine is running, until a smooth paste has formed. Continue blending for 15 seconds to thin the sauce out.  NOTE: I sometimes add more olive oil if needed.