Spinach and Mushroom Smothered Chicken

*For some reason, I'm unable to upload pictures from my computer, the browse box isn't coming up. I will add the images when I can figure out what's wrong. In the meantime, all of these recipes, along with the corresponding photo, are being posted to my Beachbody coach "like" page: www.facebook.com/bondgrlfit. I apologize for any inconvenience.*

I love this recipe! All of the ingredients are things I always have on hand, it looks pretty, and is super fast and easy to make! Plus, it's delicious! I served this with peas (My son's favorite!) and mashed potatoes sprinkled with a little mozzarella!

Here's how I made it!

3 cups spinach
8 oz mushrooms, sliced (I used half cremini and half button)
3 green onions, sliced
2 T chopped walnuts
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
2 oz part skim mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large skillet, saute spinach, mushrooms, onions, and walnuts until mushrooms are tender and browned. Set aside, cover, and keep warm.

In the same skillet over medium-high heat and sear chicken for 2 minutes on each side. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 8 minutes, until juices run clear when pierced with a knife. Top with cheese and pop back in the oven for 2-3 minutes until melted. Serve, topped with the spinach mixture, and enjoy!

This recipe serves 4

Chicken with Chive Sauce and Broccoli Mashed Potatoes

*For some reason, I'm unable to upload pictures from my computer, the browse box isn't coming up. I will add the images when I can figure out what's wrong. In the meantime, all of these recipes, along with the corresponding photo, are being posted to my Beachbody coach "like" page: www.facebook.com/bondgrlfit. I apologize for any inconvenience.*

I had a lot of chives and mushrooms leftover from Christmas (I still need to post those meals!) that needed to be used up, so I decided to use them up with this recipe! I love mushrooms, so I tend to purposely buy too much so I have an excuse to throw them in to other recipes! Another thing I really love is broccoli cheddar soup, and I wanted to get my son to actually eat his mashed potatoes this time, so I knew adding broccoli and cheddar in to them would get the job done!

Here's what's up!
2 chicken legs
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp minced chives
1 T whole wheat flour
2 T chicken broth
1 cup evaporated skim milk
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

In a large skillet, brown legs over medium-high heat for 3 minutes on each side, shove gently into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked through and juices run clear when pierced with a knife. Remove from pan and let rest while you make the sauce.

In the same skillet, sprayed with cooking spray, cook mushrooms and chives for 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for a minute or two to cook out the floury flavor, and gradually wisk in the broth until blended. Whisk in the milk and nutmeg, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook and stir for 3-5 minutes until thickened. If it doesn't thicken as much as you like, make a slurry with a tablespoon of water and cornstarch, temper it with a little of the sauce, and gradually drizzle in to the remaining sauce while constantly whisking so it doesn't clump. Taste for seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.

For the broccoli mashed potatoes:

2 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 pound broccoli, chopped (4 cups)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup evaporated skim milk
salt and pepper to taste

Cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Add broccoli to a steamer basket and set above the potatoes and water, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Check broccoli with a fork to make sure they are fork tender, and remove to a food processor. Drain potatoes and add back to the hot pot, burner turned off. Pulse the broccoli with a little milk until finely chopped. Add to the potatoes and mash with a potato masher, adding milk as needed. When completely mashed, stir in cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

This recipe serves 4

Chicken Marsala

I love chicken marsala, but it's not always the most waistline friendly meal! After searching through a few cookbooks, I took their ideas, and used some of all of them to make the dish healthier and lower in fat!

2 whole chicken legs
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
8 oz cremini or button mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1 cup marsala wine
1/3 cup chicken stock

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Season chicken with salt, pepper, basil, and oregano. In a large pan sprayed with olive oil, cook chicken for three minutes on both sides, then transfer pan to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the juices run clear when pierced with a knife.

Meanwhile, in a small pan over medium heat, saute onions and garlic until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes, add mushrooms and saute until tender and juices have evaporated, about 10 minutes.

Remove chicken legs from pan and let cool slightly. Add the mushroom mixture into the pan the chicken cooked in and return the pan to medium-high heat. Add the marsala and chicken stock and cook, uncovered, until the wine mixture has reduced by half, about four minutes. Cut the leg from the thigh of each chicken leg and return to pan, turning to coat with the sauce. If necessary, cover the pan and simmer until chicken has warmed through.

To serve, top chicken with the sauce and dive in!

Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy, Roasted Corn, and Creamy Mushroom Rice

Yay for corn season!!! I love, scratch that, adore corn on the cob when corn is in season and perfectly sweet and juicy! Yummo! So, imagine my delight when I went to the store and saw fresh corn on sale 3 for 99 cents!! I got 8! Lol! I made 4 this night, and two each night for the other two nights for little toot and myself (During the week, husband ate at the chow hall to save us money.)! I'm also a little too in love with mushrooms, and they were also on sale in bulk, so I bought two pounds and had the rest of what I didn't use this night in my eggs for a couple of weeks! Rice a Roni was on super sale as well, so I got a box of chicken rice and doctored it up some, as well!!

Cheapy cheap, tasty, and reasonably healthy!

Win!

For the pork chops with magic mushroomy goodness of love;

This recipe takes about 30 minutes to prep and cook.

4 bone-in pork chops, trimmed of fat

1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed (Fresh is a little too woodsy for this, in my opinion.)

salt

pepper

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz mushrooms, quartered

1/4 cup fat free, low sodium chicken broth

3/4 can condenced 99% fat free, low sodium cream of mushroom soup

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

Heat a large skillet, coated with cooking spray, over medium-high heat. Season pork on both sides with rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook 15-20 minutes on both sides, turning halfway through, until almost cooked through, lowering heat if you need to, and adding more spray to the pan while you have the pork lifted to flip (Off the heat if you're using gas!). Remove from pan, and tent with foil to keep warm. You can cook it all the way if you desire, I take it off a little short so it doesn't over cook during the carry over time, where it will continue to cook as it rests. Do what makes you most comfortable.

Spray the pan with additional cooking spray, if needed, and add onions. Saute until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and saute 3 to 5 minutes more until mushrooms begin to brown. Add chicken broth to deglaze and scrape up all of the yummy brown bits. Add the mushroom soup and rosemary, bring to a bubble, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened to desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly! Enjoy with mushroom induced extacy!!

This recipe serves 4.

The rice was super easy;

This recipe takes about 30 minutes to cook.

1 package Chicken or Mushroom Rice A Roni

1/4 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

4 oz mushrooms, chopped

1/4 can cream of mushroom soup (the remaining soup from the can you used for the gravy"

chicken broth or milk, if desired

pepper

dried rosemary, crushed

Cook rice according to package instructions.

In a small skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the onions until starting to soften, 2 minutes. Add in garlic and mushrooms and saute until mushrooms start to brown, about 5 minutes.

When rice is ready, stir in soup and mushrooms, adding chicken broth or milk to thin it, if desired, and season with pepper (Don't add salt, the seasonings for the rice contain plenty of salt). Simmer to warm through, and garnish with a little crushed rosemary or chopped parsley or basil.

This recipe serves 4.

If I wanted to, I couldn't make the corn easier:

This takes about 40 minutes to make and serve.

4 ears of corn, unshucked

2 tablespoons butter or margerine, softened

1 teaspoon italian seasonings, crushed (Or any dried herbs or spices you desire.)

pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay corn directly on the oven rack and roast 30 to 40 minutes, until the corn feels slightly soft when you press on it.

Meanwhile, combine butter with seasonings and pepper.

When corn is done, pull back husks (It is much easier to remove the silk now than when the corn is raw.), tying one husk around the others to make a handle, if you like. Rub the corn with a little of the butter. Enjoy!!

This recipe serves 4.

Chicken Noodle Cassarole

This was originally a recipe for tuna noodle cassarole. My husband despises warm canned tuna more than just about any other food. I never really noticed it's weirdness, as I grew up happily eating super cheesy tuna cassarole, but it is a little funky, although I still enjoy a good cheesy bowl of tuna, noodles, and peas! So, to satisfy my craving and in the interest of my husband eating, I made it with chicken! I also let go of most of the cheese, in favor of my girlish figure, and went with a homemade cream of mushroom base. 

If you want tuna, make it with tuna!

Here is how to comfort your poor little grumbling tummy!

This recipe takes about 45 minutes to prep and cook.

cooking spray

3 1/4 cups curly egg noodles

1 chicken breast, cubed

salt

pepper

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning, crushed

1 medium onion, finely chopped

10 oz mushrooms, trimmed and sliced, stems chopped

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/4 cup sherry (or chicken stock or apple juice)

2 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup evaporated skim milk

2 teaspoons lemon juice (It only takes about 1/4 of a lemon.)

2 cups frozen peas, thawed

3 slices whole wheat bread, torn and ran through a food processor for coarse crumbs

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1 teaspoon dried basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, or a mixture of any of them, crushed

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

fresh basil and/or oregano, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray.

In a pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to package directions.

Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium high heat. Add chicken and season with salt, pepper, and dried herbs until cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from pan.

Spray again with cooking spray, lower heat to medium, and add onions. Season with a little salt and pepper and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute until they start to give off liquid, about two minutes. Add soy and saute, stirring, until liquid has evaporated, just a couple of minutes. Add sherry and boil, stirring occasionally, until evaporated. Add broth and bring to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of the milk. Slowly pour 2 tablespoons of the hot broth into the cornstarsh, whisking continuously, and slowly pour the mixture into the pot, whisking continuously. Return to a boil if it isn't still boiling, reduce heat to medum low to low, whisk in milk, and simmer, whisking occasionally 5 minutes, until it starts to thicken. Stir in lemon juice and chicken. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Gently stir noodles amd peas into pot. Pour into prepaired cassarole

In a small bowl, toss together bread crumbs, cheese, and dried herbs. Toss with oil and sprinkle over cassarole. Bake until bubbly and top is crisp, about 30 minutes. Garnish with basil and/or oregano. Devour!

This recipe serves 6.