{Healthy} Chicken Piccata with Artichokes and Mushrooms

Chicken Piccata is an absolute favorite of mine!  Lemony sauce and crispy chicken;  just darn good! Part of what it makes traditional piccata so good, however, is that the chicken is heavily breaded and then fried to a golden brown in vegetable oil (blech).  Because it's just not that great of an idea to fry food in oil, I decided to give this dish a healthy makeover and it has become a staple dish to serve to company or any occasion. In fact, it's strange that I have gone so long without blogging the recipe. 

I've changed the dish by adding artichokes and mushrooms as they are fantastic for digestion and amp up the nutrition. Capers are a delicious add too.  I am pretty positive you'll love this winner winner of a chicken dinner and add it to your staple list too. 

Healthy Chicken Piccata

Serves 4

2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat and sliced in ½ in strips (about 20 oz)

1 can whole artichokes in brine, quartered + 2 T brine (You are more than welcome to steam fresh artichokes, but they are not super fresh this time of year, and can be hit or miss, so I use canned).

4 oz white or portobello mushrooms, sliced thinly

2 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of ½ lemon (2-4 T)

2 T chopped parsley

2 T organic butter, separated

1/2T olive oil

Pepper

In a large skillet, heat 1 T butter and the olive oil on medium. When butter just starts to sizzle, toss in chicken & brown for about 5 min/side. Add garlic, mushroom and cook another 5 minutes, until mushrooms soften. Add the whole can of quartered artichokes, 2 T brine, 2T lemon juice, 1 T butter. Stir well and simmer for about 10-15 min. Sprinkle in parsley and more lemon juice if you like it lemony and stir.

Serve hot and with some other green veggies (broccoli today).  I love to serve this dish over smashed (skin-on) redskin potatoes, like in the picture.  The resistant starch in the potato skins is a great prebiotic source, making this a great digestive dish, with the artichokes and fiber.  It's also SUPER delicious with rice or wheat pasta  I like to cook the pasta separately, then drain and throw right into the chicken & sauce, adding another drizzle of olive oil as I toss.

Nutrition Facts:

251 Calories

34 g protein

9 g fat

7 g carbs

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Roasted Chicken Drummies & Baked Apples, Sweet Potato & Onion

Fall is here. Ya know how I know??  Cider mill time = fall time. There's nothing quite like a fresh, crisp Michigan apple.  I couldn't resist buying a peck them today at Cider Mill.  At this point in the Apple Season, Galas were the best bet for fresh and baking use so that's what I bought.  The mill had a Kream-Mustard from Brownwood Farms in Traverse City for sale, which the sweet older woman at the counter told me was perfect on chicken...and since I had chicken drumsticks thawing....

Mustard Chicken Drummies

4 chicken drumsticks
2 tbsp artisan mustard (a honey mustard would be the best)
3 large celery stalks (cut in half)
2 large whole carrots (chopped in half & large side halved lengthwise)
4 garlic cloves (sliced in half)
Sea Salt, Black Pepper

Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 45-50 min

Wash & prep your carrot and celery and arrange (along with  garlic) on the bottom of a baking dish with enough water to cover the bottom of the dish.  Wash and pat dry chicken drumsticks and give them a good salt & pepper rub.  Use your hands to coat the chicken in mustard and make sure to get it under the skin.  Arrange on top of your "baking rack".  Using the vegetables allows heat and air to circulate around the chicken and keep them moist, while adding flavor. Roast uncovered for 45-50 minutes, or until skin is crispy and juices run clear. Flip half way through and baste with some more mustard (baste one more time 5 minutes from done).  Let sit 5 minutes before serving.


Baked Sweet Potatoes with Apples & Onions {VEGAN}

2 fresh MICHIGAN apples!
1 small yellow onion
1 large sweet potato (I used a Red Garnet yam)
1.5 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp organic brown sugar
Dashes of cinnamon & nutmeg
Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes if you wish :)

Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min

Preheat oven to 400. Chop sweet potatoes and apples into equal sized wedges. Slice onion into thick wedges also. Toss in a bowl with coconut oil, brown sugar and spices.  Arrange in a baking dish and cover with aluminum foil (poke a few holes in the top). Bake for 30 minutes, take the foil off and stir.  Bake for another 10 minutes or until you can get a fork through your sweet potatoes. 

Served with lightly steamed local kale (+lemon, EVOO, sea salt).

Caribbean Baked Chicken, Sweet Potato & Spicy Mango-Avocado Salad

 So, our trip to Costa Rica is quickly approaching (T-2 weeks!)  One of the biggest things I'm excited about, naturally, is exploring Tico cuisine.    Not sure what to expect, but today I found myself day-dreaming of the sun, jungle, beaches and local cuisine.  Since I had a chicken ready to make today, I added a bit of tropical inspiration and created this lovely meal.  Delicious, healthy, and ready in 1 hour.  Enjoy!

Serves 4
1 hour, 10 min prep and cook time.

Jerk Chicken & Sweet Potato Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
2 medium sweet potatoes (cut into large pieces)
2 Tbsp jerk seasoning
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions: 

I use whole organic (local, if available) chickens whenever possible.  To me, it's the cheapest and most sustainable option.  I save the bones and organs to make soup/stock with later. 

Preheat your oven to 375. Cut the chicken into 6 pieces.  Season well on all sides with jerk.  I made my own a few months ago.  Buy it at the store or go ahead and make your own:

Jerk Rub:

2  tablespoons  sugar
4-1/2  teaspoons  onion powder
4-1/2  teaspoons  dried thyme, crushed
1  tablespoon  ground allspice
1  tablespoon  ground black pepper
1-1/2  to 3 teaspoons  ground red pepper
1-1/2  teaspoons  salt
3/4  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
1/4  teaspoon  ground cloves

Place your chicken pieces in a 9"x13" pyrex pan and pop into the oven for 15 minutes.  Now, cut up sweet potatoes into large chunks.  Toss with salt, pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.  After 15 min, take the chicken out of the oven and arrange the sweet potatoes around the chicken...



Bake for an additional 45 minutes. Your chicken will come out crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and potatoes should be nice and soft.   While your chicken is baking, you'll have ample time to make the salad and clean up!


Spicy Mango-Avocado Salad ingredients:
2 large handfuls (3 cups) fresh baby spinach
1 avocado, cut into matchstick pieces
1 green (not ripe) mango, cut into matchstick pieces
1/2 onion, sliced thinly
2 tbsp Cilantro, finely diced
1 small jalapeno, thinly sliced into long strips

Habenero-Honey-Lime Vinaigrette ingredients:
1/2 habenero, finely diced
Juice of 1/2 large lime
1 tbsp honey or agave
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper (a few dashes each)

For this recipe, it's very important you use a green mango.  Make sure it's still very firm.  Prep all ingredients.  Toss your salad ingredients in a large bowl.   In a bowl or a cup, whisk together your salad dressing ingredients.  Gently toss to coat. Enjoy!

Nutrition Info (for 1/2c potatoes, 1 chicken breast, 1/4 salad recipe):
453 calories
42 g carb
14 g fat
43 g protein