Yummy Recipies

I love to cook! I love trying new recipes! Unfortunately, as of a year ago I had to quit Martial Arts due to arthritis, I quit smoking AND I ended up with hypothyroidism.  Because of that, I gained tons of weight! I'm not so horrible lol, but compared to my very thin, very fit Asian husband...well, let's say I stand out. So, I am having to completely change my diet. I love food too much to eat the mundane. But, I had to also give up some things I love.

While my recipes may include ingredients, please note that I more times than not, use organic foods.  I believe eating free range/roaming animals and eating organic is very important for our bodies.  I shy away from processed foods and eating too many grains and dairy.

____________________________

Mediterranean Chicken with Salsa Verde

____________________________

Hi everyone! Things have been quite busy around here with my oldest son starting middle school! While exciting, it's loads of homework and hard on a boy who is NOT organized LOL! I have to continually stay on him :). But, I finally managed to get a recipe for you all!

This recipe is a favorite in my family. You might not think so with two picky eaters, but my boys love it! It's called Mediterranean Chicken with Salsa Verde. I got this recipe originally from Cook Yourself Thin Website a few years ago. I don't know why it's called Salsa Verde, which basically means "green sauce", but I would morel likely call it a Chimichurri sauce. The best part about this recipe is it's ONLY 370 calories per serving!!!

I have created a lovely recipe layout here using my Color Play 12 from Scrap Art Studio, which you can find HERE. I will go on to describe the process with images and at the end, if it all looks divine, you can download my printable recipe cards!

Color Play 12 from Scrap Art Studio

Now on to the fun part!

You first want to gather all your ingredients for the chicken marinade. The recipe calls for you pounding the chicken to flatten it first. But, I like to marinade my chicken before pounding to get all those juices pounded in there. And, if you like wine, it always helps to sip on a glass while cooking like I do :).

Chicken Marinade:

• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, washed and quartered
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed (use the broad side of a knife and press down carefully)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. dried Rosemary or 3 branches of fresh Rosemary (if you are like me, you will find your rosemary bush so large, that no amount of Mediterranean chicken will reduce it's size)
• 4 boneless chicken breast (free range organic chicken seriously tastes the best if you can afford it)

In a Ziplock bag or other sealable bag, place the chicken in it. Then you will squeeze the quartered lemon in the bag and add the actual lemons. Place the rest of the ingredients in the bag and seal. If you are using fresh rosemary, you will need to pull off the leaves and discard the stems. Here is when I start pounding on the chicken. I have it sealed in an extra bag. I don't pound it to a pancake, but I do it enough to where the chicken isn't too fat that it takes forever to cook and ends up being burnt on the outside. Then refrigerate chicken for at LEAST 30 minutes. I marinade for about three hours.

While the chicken is marinading, I start on the Salsa Verde. Now this is the hard part. It takes quite a bit of chopping. So, if you have arthritis like I do, using a knife to chop all the herbs isn't going to cut it (pun intended). I have a lovely slicer that rolls to chop herbs, or whatever you want to use to make it quicker and painless. But, trust me on this...it's worth the work!  

* Note: If you have an Asian market in your town, I suggest you head there to buy your herbs, if you don't grow them yourself. For example, you can buy a either a small container of basil at the grocery store for $5 or you can go to the Asian market and get three times as much for only a $1. They sell all kinds of fresh herbs there.

Salsa Verde:

• 1 C. flat leaf parsley
• 1 C. mint leaves, chopped (1 cup is a lot of mint.  I would say half if can't find it in a larger amount)
• 2 C. basil

* Note: The recipe calls for 1 C. parsley and 2 C. basil.  I actually switch these for my recipe, but I have kept the original recipe intact.

• 1/3 C. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 Tbsp. capers, drained and chopped (in the pickle aisle in your grocery store)
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• dash of pepper
• No salt is needed here between the vinegar, capers and Dijon, it's salty enough.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Taste test to see if you need to add anything extra. I usually end up putting a bit more Dijon and vinegar in it, but that's just my taste. The marinade needs to be at room temperature. So, if you make it early in the day and refrigerate, remove the bowl from refrigerator an hour before serving to warm up.

If you have a cast iron skillet, all the better, but it works on a regular skillet as well. Lightly spray your skillet with oil and start heating it over medium-high heat until smoking (for cast iron skillets). Remove your chicken from the refrigerator and take out of the bag. Pat dry each piece with a paper towel to remove excess marinade. Place chicken in the skillet and cook 2-3 minutes per side. Turn chicken over again and cook 2 more minutes each side, or until no longer pink.

That's it! Remove the chicken from the skillet, place each piece on a bed of noodles and pour as much sauce as you want over the chicken. You don't want to overdo the sauce. About 3 Tbsp. should be enough per chicken. I usually take whole grain or organic spaghetti noodles, pour about 2 Tbsp. of extra-virgin olive oil and some diced garlic and a dash of Kosher salt, and mix together.  

You will find you may not eat a whole piece of chicken with the noodles. I generally only eat half of it. Your family will love it too! It's so fresh and tasty, it's hard to resist!

*Note: While the main dish is only 370 calories per serving, adding noodles increases those calories.

I hope you have enjoyed my first recipe post and don't forget to grab the recipe cards below!

Download Recipe Cards Here