Choke chicken

A version of Leanne Ely's artichoke chicken recipe.

1 can cream of asparagus soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans of artichoke hearts
1 package of pre-sliced mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Mix together in crockpot soups, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Coat chicken breasts and cook 6-8 hours on low or until juice run clear. Serve with steamed veggies and fruit on the side.

Tomato Mushroom Chicken

I've been making this recipe so long, I forget where I found it!

6 tomatoes, cubed
1 c. chopped onion (I use the frozen precut ones)
1 pacakge of already sliced mushrooms
1 1/2lb of chicken breast tenders
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ground mustard

In crock pot combine vegetables. In a small bowl or custard dish, combine spices. Dump spices with vegetables and stir. Add chicken, stir. Cook on low 6 hours or until done.

Serve with pitas, tortillas, pasta, or rice.

Or just serve with steamed veggies on the side. =)

Alton Brown's Broccoli Casserole

A wonderful recipe! It's a bit high in fat so I try to use lowfat and nonfat subs for this one.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cup blue cheese dressing
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Flavor Pack from Ramen
6 cups broccoli, peeled stems and heads, chopped and blanched in salted water
12 ounces sliced mushrooms, Sauteed in 1 tablespoon butter
1 package chicken flavored Ramen noodles, broken up

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl combine mayonnaise, yogurt, cheddar cheese, blue cheese dressing, eggs, salt, pepper, and flavor pack from noodles. In a separate bowl combine broccoli, mushrooms, and broken noodles then toss together wet mixture and vegetables to evenly coat. Place in an 8 by 8-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with non- stick cooking spray and cook for 45 minutes covered. Then remove cover and bake for additional 15 minutes to brown. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Rachel Ray's Meatloaf Muffins with Barbecue Sauce

A classic recipe in a new-fangled way. YUM!

1 2/3 to 1 3/4 pounds ground sirloin (I use turkey)
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
2 ribs celery from the heart of the stalk, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 green bell pepper
1 large egg plus a splash of milk, beaten
1 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
1 cup smoky barbecue sauce
1/2 cup tomato salsa
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Put ground beef into a big bowl. Put onion and celery into a food processor. Cut the bell pepper in half, rip out the seeds and throw them into your garbage bowl. Cut the pepper into a few pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse the processor blades to finely chop the vegetables into very small pieces then add them to the meat bowl. Add egg, beaten with milk, bread crumbs and grill seasoning to the bowl. Next, mix together the smoky barbecue sauce, the salsa and the Worcestershire sauce. Pour half the sauce mixture into the bowl with the meatloaf mix. Mix the meatloaf together with your hands. Wash up. Brush a 12-muffin tin (1/2-cup each) with vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil. Use an ice cream scoop to help you fill meat into a each tin. Top each meat loaf with a spoonful of extra sauce. Bake about 20 minutes. Cut open 1 muffin to test that the middle is cooked through.

Rachel Ray's Turkey Club Salad with Avocado Dressing

Yeah I know, she says "EVOO" too much. But dangit, her recipes are good!

12 slices microwave ready sliced bacon (recommended: Ready Crisp bacon)
3 hearts romaine lettuce
2 cups pea shoots, radish spouts or bean spouts
3 plum tomatoes, sliced
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds rotisserie turkey breast or thick sliced deli roast turkey breast
2 ripe Hass avocados
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco sauce), eyeball it

Crisp the bacon in microwave according to package directions. Remove from microwave and chop. Of course, any bacon or turkey bacon which you have on hand may be substituted. These pre-rendered bacon products simply allow you to keep more heat out of the kitchen by giving you the option of a low-maintenance microwave preparation.

Chop romaine lettuce and arrange on large platter. Arrange a bed of pea shoots or sprouts on top of the lettuce then arrange the tomatoes and chopped red onion on top of that. Season the salad vegetables with salt and pepper, to your taste. Scatter chopped bacon onto salad.

Remove the rotisserie turkey from the bone with a sharp carving knife. Slice the rotisserie breast meat on an angle into strips. For thick cut turkey from the deli, julienne the meat into 1/2-inch strips. Arrange the sliced turkey down the center of the salad platter.

Cut all around the ripe avocados down to the pit. Twist and separate the halved fruit. Remove the pit with a spoon, then scoop the flesh with a spoon into your food processor bowl. Add the zest and juice of 1 lemon to the food processor. Chop garlic on your board and mash with 1 teaspoon salt to paste the garlic. Add garlic paste and the red wine vinegar to the food processor. Place lid on the food processor and turn it on. While the blade is spinning, stream in extra-virgin olive oil and add hot sauce. Stop processor, taste dressing and adjust seasonings. Pour dressing back and forth over the platter evenly when you are ready to serve this simple and so-cool salad meal.

Note: I use turkey cutlets and just pan cook them up. Yum!

Rosemary Orange Chicken

Source: Taste of Home

8 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1 onion chopped (I use equal amount of prechopped frozen onions)
1/3 c. frozen concentrated orange juice
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp water
chopped cashews

In a crockpot, mix together onion, rosemary, salt, flour, and water. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cook on low 6-8 hours or until chicken is done and juices run clear. Add cashews. Serve on a bed of rice or pasta.

Note: I serve this without the starch and prefer broccoli on the side.

Italian Layer Recipe

I know, I know. We've declared before we're cutting out starches. Well we do cheat once in awhile (wink) and this is one of our favorite cheat recipes.

1 1/2lb ground hamburger (I use ground turkey meat)
1/4 c. minced onion
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1 pkg spaghetti sauce mix
8oz pkg sour cream
2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 crescent rolls
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/3 c. parmesan cheese shredded
Cooked pasta (I use Ziti)

Spray 13x9 pan with cooking spray. Layer pasta in pan. In a skillet brown and drain hamburger. Add onion to meat and layer on top of the pasta. Spread tomato sauce over the meat layer and sprinkle with spaghetti sauce mix. Spread sour cream over tomato sauce and layer mozzarella over sour cream. Unroll 8 crescent rolls from package but do not separate. Layer cresecnt rolls on top of sour cream layer, forming a crust. Drizzle crust with butter and parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Leanne Ely's Crock-pot Stuffed Peppers

Leanne Ely has a wonderful book, "Saving Dinner" which I recommend. This is one of them.

1-1/4 pound of extra lean ground beef (I use turkey meat)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. onion, chopped
6 red bell peppers
2 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp water

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except bell peppers, ketchup, and water. Stir well.

Stuff peppers two-thirds full and place carefully in crockpot. Pour the water into the bottom of the crockpot and pour ketchup over the tops of the peppers. Cook on low 7-9 hours or on high 3-4 hours.

Leanne Ely's Crock-pot Cabbage Rolls

A great "make in the morning" recipe to have a warm meal ready for night time.

1 cabbage
1 lb ground turkey
1/4 c. brown rice uncooked
1 egg, beaten
1 onion, minced (I use equal portion of precut frozen onions)
1 carrot, minced (I use preshredded carrots from the produce section)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 c. apple cide vinegar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 8oz can tomato sauce
Toothpicks

Drop cabbage in boiling water and simmer for 5-10 minutes;cool.

In the meantime, in a bowl, mix ground turkey, rice, egg, onion, carrots, salt, and pepper. In another bowl mix together vinegar, sugar, and tomato sauce.

When cabbage is cooled sufficiently, remove 12 large leaves. Chop remaining cabbage and place in bottom of Crock-Pot. Place 2-4 tablespoons of meat mixture in center of each cabbage leaf. Roll up, envelope style, and secure with a toothpick. Place seam side down in Crock-Pot. Pour tomato sauce mixture over all. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours (Note: Mine finish in about six hours on low).

Leanne Ely's Lime Garlic Chicken

This recipe is fantastic. It is spicy but very good.

1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp thyme
6 boneless, skinless, chicken breast
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp lime juice
1/2 c. chicken broth (low sodium is best!)

In a clean salt shaker mix together spice/herb ingredients. Sprinkle mixture on both sides of chicken. In a skillet heat butter and oil together on medium heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove chicken and add lime juice and chicken broth to pan, whisking up browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Keep cooking until sauce as reduced slightly. Add chicken back to the pan to thoroughly coat and serve.

I serve this with steamed veggies and either applesauce or fruit of some type.

Alton Brown's Curry Chicken Pot Pie

My husband, children, and myself are enamored with Alton Brown. He has a common sense approach to cooking and the recipes he demonstrates are fantastic! This is the first recipe we tried from his show.

4 cups frozen vegetable mix, peas, carrots
1 to 2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 package puff pastryPreheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss frozen vegetables with canola oil and spread evenly onto a sheet pan. Place into oven and cook until golden brown.

In a saute pan heat 1 tablespoon of butter and sweat the onion and celery. In another saucepan, heat the broth and milk. Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the celery mix and cook out the water. Add the flour and curry and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk mixture and cook until thickened. Add the parsley, salt and pepper. Toss the browned vegetables and the chicken. Pour into a shallow baking pan, or a large terra cotta pot base, lined with foil, and top with 6 to 8 circles of puff pastry. Place into the oven and cook until puff pastry has browned and the mixture is hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Note: I will substitute the puff pastry with a can of refrigerated biscuits.