Coq Au Vin (Easy Version)

Coq Au Vin is one of my favorite french dinners! A friend introduced me to it in Paris at an old restaurant called Pracop. It's really more of a stewed chicken in red wine but I am a wimp and when I saw this quick recipe I knew it was meant for me! And it was, I have made a friend for life with this recipe! I will make it again and again!!4 bacon slices, coarsely chopped

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves

3 T. chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided

8 oz. large crimini mushroom, halved

8 lrg. shallots, peeled, havved through root end

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 1/2 cups dry red wine

1 1/2 low sodium chicken broth, divided

4 tsp all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Saute bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer to bowl.

Sprinkile chicken with salt, papper and 1 T. parsley. Add to drippings in skillet. Saute until cooked through, about 6 munutes per side; transfer to pie dish (reserve skillet). Place in oven to keep warm.

Add mushrooms and shallots to skillet; sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Saute until brown, about 4 minutes. Add garlic; toss 10 seconds. Add wine, 1 1/4 cup broth, stirring until smooth.

Add flour mixture to sauce. Cook until sauce thickens, 3 to 4 munutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Arrange chicken on platter; stir juices from pie dish into sauce and sppon over chicken. Sprinkle with 1 T. parsley.

Serves 4

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I have been dying for some soup ever since the weather turned chilly. Once I decided on soup, I started craving Chicken Tortilla Soup. I researched a bunch of them and decided on Martha Stewart's version. It took me a little while because you make the base from scratch but it turned out INCREDIBLE! Honestly, I don't know if I have ever been so proud of something. I know this sounds super braggy (just know that I am bragging about the recipe, and not my cooking)....but I would totally expect to find this in a restaurant or something. I loved it! It is also really healthy too, it is basically all vegetables. Yum!

1 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast halves (I bought a rotissere chicken from Costco and shredded half of it)
2 cups cilantro plus 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
2 14.5 oz cans chicken broth
3 cups water
4 plum tomatoes
2 small onions, halved lengthwise, unpeeled
4 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
3/4 cups rinsed, drained canned chickpeas (I didn't include these)
1/2 small avocado
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp minced jalapeno (didn't include this)
sour cream
shredded cheese
tortilla chips

1. In a large saucepan, combine chicken, 2 cups cilantro, broth and water. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer gently until chicken is just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; let cool. Cut into 1/2 inch dice. Strain broth through a fine strainer; reserve. Wipe pot out. ***I didn't do this whole step because I already had my chicken cooked. I just shredded 1/2 of my costco rotisserie chicken***
2. Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a cast-iron skillet on medium-high until hot. Add 3 tomatoes, onions, and garlic; cover and cook, turning vegetables occasional, until skins are nicely charred, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. When veggies are cool enough to handle, remove skins, stems, and cores; discard. Place tomatoes, onions, and garlic in a blender with 1/2 cup of broth; blend until smooth. S crape mixture into saucepan; cook, stirring, over medium heat until thickened and darker; about 6 inutes. Stir in remaining both, 1/4 tsp salt, corn, chickpeas and chicken. Remove from heat.
3. Finely dice avocado. Place in a bowl. Finely dice remaining tomato, and add to avocado with lime juice, jalapeno, chopped cilantro and remaining 1/8 tsp salt. Re-warm soup; ladle into bowls. Garnish with avocado mixture, sour cream, cheese and tortilla chips.

Carrot Zucchini Muffins

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup applesauce

1 cup grated carrots

1 cup grated zucchini

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

• Preheat oven to 400F
• In a large bowl, whisk together oil and sugar. Beat in egg, then applesauce. Stir in carrots and zucchini. In another large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Fold dry ingredients into wet, until just mixed. Spoon batter to the very top of sprayed, paper-lined muffin cups and bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in a muffin.
• 
• 1 muffin: 162 calories, 2 grams of fiber, 3 grams of protein.
• Perfect for breakfast, before a workout, or anytime you need a healthy, filling snack.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

Photo by Taste of Home

I love, love, love, pizza, but needed to find one that is actually somewhat good for you and not loaded with fat and calories. I found this delicious pizza from Taste of Home, but of coarse had to make a few changes. I always use my mom's pizza dough recipe which is delicious, but lately I have been substituting whole wheat flour and also halving the recipe; which makes a super thin but yummy crust.

Lisa's Pizza Dough - Healthified :)

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon quick-rise yeast

1 cup warm water

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

In a bowl, combine the first four ingredients. Combine water and oil; add to flour mixture. Add additional flour if needed to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. Punch the dough down; place on a greased 12 inch pizza pan (I use a pizza stone sprinkled with cornmeal) and pat into a 12 inch circle.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 small onion, thinly sliced

1/2 each small green, sweet red and yellow peppers, julienned

1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

3 tablespoons pesto - I usually use homemade but this time I tried Kirkland brand

1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook the chicken, onion, peppers and mushrooms in 1 tablespoon olive oil, until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat; set aside.

Spread pesto on dough and top with chicken mixture and cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until crust and cheese are lightly browned.

A Wrap with a twist

I often get tired of eating salads to get my vegis in. So, I was very excited to see this idea of a pure vegi wrap on the Sun Drenchers site. It's a great way to get lots of vegis in at one sitting. So what you do is use cabbage leaves for the "wrap" and load it up with whatever vegis you like. I used pretty much all the ingredients I used for my Asian salad : one carrot, green onion, 1/4 red pepper, handful of sprouts, cashews, sesame seeds, and I added over half an avacado. I julienned all of my vegis so they would fit nicely in the wrap. I used both a green leaf and red leaf of cabbage, then I topped it off my the Asian Sun Drencher. It's very fun to eat, but can be a bit messy so make sure you get a big enough leaf of cabbage to hold all of your filling nicely. I'm excited to try this out with different flavor combination's. Enjoy!

Asian Salad and Sun Drenchers:)

Ok, so I've had a break through. A Healthy breakthrough :) I've been sick of the same old salads I've been having, I always do a dressing consisting of olive oil and lemon, because that's healthier than the alternative store bought dressing loaded with bad oils, mayonnaise, and preservatives. However, I have to admit that I have been longing for a change! Well yesterday I was looking on green smoothie girls site, and she had an interview with one of the creators of Sun Drenchers, I wont go into detail because I will give you the links if you want to find out more about it, but basically Sun Drenchers is a dressing that's actually good for you. It's created by a raw foodist so they are 100% raw, organic, and gluten free. The ingredients in these dressings are amazing, nothing bad for you, if you have a chance you should definitely read more about them here.

Of course after reading about Sun Drenchers I ran right out to my local Good Earth and bought some. I got the Italian and Asian Sun Drencher. I was a little hesitant to pay the almost $10 each, but decided to go for it. I made an Asian salad today to try out my Asian Sun Drencher. Now, this is hardly an exact recipe, but here's what I put in my salad:

-red cabbage
-green cabbage
-shredded/grated carrot
-sesame seeds
-cashews
-red peppers
-sprouts
-a little bit of romaine
and of course, topped off with the Asian Sun Drencher

Let me tell you, I was not excited about this salad, but was desperate for something new so decided to try it. Boy I am so glad I did! It was delicious, and what made it was the Asian Sun Drencher. It was amazing!!!!!! One of my favorite dressings ever. And one of the best dressings out there for you, it has 90 calories per 1 1/2 T., compared to the 120 calories per 1 T. olive oil has. And, those 90 calories are good calories! I haven't tried the Italian Drenching yet but will tomorrow and let you know how it is.

So if you have still stuck with me throughout this very long post, and are still reading now, and haven't checked out Sun Drenchers yet, do it now! :) it's very inspiring and you can read all about their "drenchings" and hopefully you can have a chance to try then out!!