Almond-Crusted Chicken

I love finding recipes that are healthy but resemble their non-healthy counterparts and are just as satisfying. This is one of those recipes - chicken with a crunchy almond coating that you could almost swear was breaded and fried. Okay - so it's not an exact replica. But it comes pretty darn close! Thanks, Real Simple. Now to find a healthy counterpart for cheesy, gooey mac & cheese ;)


Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup raw almonds
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
2 large egg whites
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
*To the ground almonds, I also added onion powder and dried parsley.


Directions
1. In a food processor, finely chop the almonds. Don't make them too fine, as you'll want some granules to be larger to provide texture to the coating once you put it on the chicken.
2. Transfer the almonds to a flat dish (this will make it easier to coat the chicken). Stir in the paprika, onion powder and dried parsley.

3. In a second flat dish or shallow bowl, whisk together two egg whites.
4. Pat the chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper.

I find it easiest to set up an assembly-line of sorts...for faster chicken coating :)

5. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg, and let any excess drip back into the bowl.
6. Place the chicken into the almond mixture and press to coat. Flip and repeat with second side.
7. Place in baking dish, cover with foil and refrigerate for 20 minutes to set the coating.

8. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
9. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat.
10. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and place in the skillet.
11. Cook 3-4 minutes per side until the coating is golden brown.

12. Transfer to the baking dish and bake 20 minutes.

I served the chicken with small potatoes, quartered and sautéed in olive oil, salt and pepper (they taste like french fries if you let them get crispy enough on the outside!) and broiled asparagus. It was also great leftover for lunch the next day!

White Chicken Chili

I love chili - but I know that I also get bored having the same chili recipes over and over. This is a white chili recipe that has more of a southwest/Mexican kick to it. Thanks to Angela for this one. With the impending blizzard that's about to hit...the biggest in Chicago since 1967...just typing this recipe warms me up!


Ingredients
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 medium sweet onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp. lime juice (the juice of approximately 1 lime)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper sauce (*optional: it makes it extra spicy, FYI)
Salt and pepper
11 oz. can white or whole kernel corn, rinsed and drained
15 oz. can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz. can butter beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz. can chick peas, rinsed and drained
7 oz. can green chiles
2 cups chicken breast, chopped and cooked
*Note: one great shortcut my mom taught me for soup that involves chicken is to buy a prepared rotisserie chicken and simply remove the meat from the bones and add to the soup. It saves a lot of time, and the chicken already has great seasoning and flavor. This is what I prefer to do for my chicken soup, and I definitely recommend it!


Directions
1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add onions and garlic, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, rinse and drain all of the beans and corn.
4. Add beans, corn, chiles, broth and seasonings (basically everything but the chicken).
5. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 25 minutes, covered.
6. Meanwhile, dice the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt, pepper and onion powder.
7. Saute until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
*Note: if you are using the prepared rotisserie chicken, simply use this time to peel the meat from the bones.
8. Add the cooked chicken to the pot and stir. Continue to cook for 5 minutes.
9. Serve with your favorite southwest toppings: sour cream, scallions, avocado, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese and/or fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

Thanks again for this awesome recipe, Angela!

Sweet Potato Puree

This recipe is wonderful, especially in the wintertime when it's cold and you want some satisfying comfort food. It is so sweet you would think there is honey, syrup or sugar added in. But it's just the delicious sweetness of sweet potatoes and carrots all on their own...little veggie rockstars! Thanks to Giada for this one!

Ingredients
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced
1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup water


Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat.
2. Saute onion until tender, about 5 minutes. 

3. Add garlic and saute for one more minute.
4. Add the carrots, sweet potatoes, salt and pepper. Mix and saute for 5 minutes.

5. Add the chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil.

6. Reduce heat and summer for 25 minutes.
7. Remove from heat and remove one cup of the liquid.

8. Puree with an immersion blender.

Mustard-Roasted Vegetables

Affectionately called "Roasted Vegetable Magic" by the Gluten-Free Goddess, I found this recipe to be a good variation on roasted vegetables. Rather than just tossing the veggies in olive oil, salt and pepper prior to roasting, these veggies are tossed with some dijon mustard as well (and boy, do I love Grey Poupon!) Here's how it's done:


Ingredients
Sauce:
4 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. fresh chopped dill or parsley


4-5 small potatoes, diced
1 medium red onion, sliced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
1 bunch broccoli, separated
1 summer squash, peeled and diced
1 zucchini, peeled and diced
1 small red cabbage, sliced
Salt and pepper
*Note: I also toasted pine nuts and mixed them in at the end for a little crunch-factor.
**Note 2: You can use any veggies you like or that you have available at home.


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Prepare the veggies and place them in a large baking dish or roasting pan.

3. Prepare the sauce by whisking together all of the ingredients.
4. With clean hands or a large spoon, toss the veggies in the sauce until all are coated.

5. Roast for one hour until fork tender.
6. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Watch them closely - once they start browning, they brown fast!
7. Once you remove the veggies from the oven, toss the pine nuts in with a large spoon or sprinkle on top (whichever you prefer).

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Isn't it funny how our tastes change as we get older? I am convinced that if you had asked me as a child if I liked lemon desserts, I would have scrunched my face and shouted a big "Yuck!" But ask me now what my favorite desserts are and they will usually involve the words "lemon" or "raspberry."


I found this recipe for Lemon Ricotta cookies on the Food Network website. They did a 12 Days of Cookies countdown around the holidays, and Day 5 introduced this delicious recipe from Giada DeLaurentis. I had high hopes, but having never used ricotta cheese in a baking recipe before, I was unsure if I would like the taste and texture. Boy, am I glad I tried these. They are definitely a new favorite - almost cake-like, they have some similarities with the Pumpkin Butterscotch cookies I've come to love. Try them - you won't be disappointed!


Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
15 oz. whole-milk ricotta cheese
3 tbsp. lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons, depending on their size)
Zest of one lemon


Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp. lemon juice
Zest of one lemon


*Note: if you can find Meyer Lemons at your local grocery store, I suggest using them. They are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange and provide a sweeter flavor than a traditional lemon...perfect for baking!


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a medium bowl with a hand- or stand-mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined.
5. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice and zest. Mix until just combined.
6. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.


This dough is extremely sticky, so here's how I formed the cookie batter into balls:
7. Place a 1/2 cup or so of flour in a small bowl.
8. Rub the flour on clean hands and on a spoon.
9. Using the floured spoon, scoop out about one tsp. worth of batter from the mixing bowl.
10. With floured hands, form the batter into a ball and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
11. Repeat this with all of the cookie batter, re-flouring your hands and the spoon after 2 or 3 cookies.


12. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes until just golden on the edges.
13. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Then remove to a wire rack to cool completely, approximately 15 more minutes.
14. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze. Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest in a small bowl.
15. Once the cookies have cooled, spoon 1 tsp. of glaze on each cookie and spread to the edges with the back of the spoon.
16. Let glazed cookies sit at room temperature for 2 hours in order for the glaze to harden. Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days; they also store well in the freezer for up to a week.

Chicken Quesadilla Pie

Another winner from Real Simple that calmed my cravings for some good Mexican food. And it was just as good leftover the next day.


Ingredients
10 oz. can enchilada sauce (red or green is fine)
1/4 cup sour cream
4 whole wheat tortillas
2 cups Mozzarella cheese
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sauteed and diced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 zucchini, peeled and diced
Salt, pepper and onion powder
*Serve with black refried beans and avocado.


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine the enchilada sauce and sour cream.

3. Grate the cheese and set aside.

4. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and onion powder.
5. Dice and saute in a medium skillet until cooked through. Set aside.

6. Place a tortilla in the bottom of a lightly greased pie dish.

7. Spread the sour cream mixture on the tortilla.

8. Top with a third of the cheese, chicken, onion and zucchini.

9. Repeat twice to form a total of three layers. Top with the remaining tortilla.

10. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
11. Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
12. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

Slow-Cooker Vegetable Chili

If you know me, you know I'm not a football girl. But I can certainly get excited about a game if there is a lot of hype around me. So when the Bears played the Packers last weekend, I thought it would be fun to watch the game with friends. And what good is a gathering without food? I found this recipe for slow-cooker chili from the Real Simple website (which I love, by the way). It was so easy to prepare ahead of time, and I thought it turned out so delicious. For a meatless chili, it had all the "oomph" you'd expect from a more traditional recipe. And I loved the fresh, cold, crunchy toppings combined with the hot chili. Yum!


Ingredients
1 medium red onion, diced
2 bell peppers, diced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
28 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
15.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
15.5 oz kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper
*For garnish, I used thinly sliced radishes, sliced scallions, diced avocados and sour cream.


Directions
1. Prepare the vegetables.
2. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, add all of the vegetables, beans and seasonings. 

3. Add one cup of water to the slow cooker. Mix to combine.
4. Cover and cook for 4 to 5 hours (on high heat) or 7 to 8 hours (on low heat).
5. Serve with desired toppings. Real Simple also suggested serving it with tortilla chips.

Suwanski liked it...much more than she liked the Bears losing to the Packers.