Chicken and Artichoke Casserole

A shorty but a goody:

Chicken and Artichoke Casserole
Serves 4

5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (organic, free range), cut in 1" strips
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
2 tablespoons flour
1(14.5-oz.) can low sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet over medium heat, brown chicken lightly in 2 tablespoons butter, add the garlic and mushrooms and keep cooking till chicken mixture is smelling very garlicky.
Transfer browned chicken strips to a baking dish (for your extra casserole, use an aluminum pan that can be tossed after use); arrange artichoke hearts on top.
In the skillet, melt remaining butter and add the flour, whisking to blend (no lumps!). Add broth and cook until thickened then pour over chicken mixture.
Bake the casserole, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 30 to 45 minutes

Tis the Season for Seafood

The recipes in this post are going to take up quite a bit of room, so I'll try to keep the pre-recipe chitter chatter to a minimum. All I really want to say is that I was floored last week when I asked my meat and potatoes lovin' husband what he would like from the grocery store. You will NEVER guess what he said. Give up? He requested that I pick up some Veganaise. That's right, he wanted me to buy some vegan mayo. What the...!!?? Anyhow, I was more than excited to follow through on that request. My first meal with the vegan mayo was Honey Walnut Shrimp...a spin off of one of my husband's favorite Chinese meals. He gobbled up ever last Veganaise smothered bite. And, while I'm posting one seafood recipe, I figured I might as well post another (see Baked Calamari recipe below the Honey Walnut Shrimp recipe). Enjoy!

Honey Walnut Shrimp

Ingredients:
2 1/2 tbsp flour (white, wheat, gluten free, etc)
2 dashes salt
Dash black pepper
8 oz. raw large shrimp, peeled, tails removed, deveined (about 16 shrimp)
2 tbsp. fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
2 tbsp Veganaise or reduced fat mayonnaise
1 tbsp. honey
1 splash lemon juice
Dash chili powder
1 tbsp. chopped walnuts


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and set aside.

In a wide sealable container, combine flour with a dash each salt and pepper. Seal and shake to mix. Set aside.

Make sure shrimp are dry. (Blot well with paper towels.) Place in a bowl with egg substitute, and gently toss to coat.

One at a time, gently shake shrimp to remove excess egg substitute and transfer to the seasoned flour; flip to evenly coat. Place on the baking sheet, evenly spaced.

Lightly mist shrimp with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Flip shrimp. Bake until cooked through and slightly crispy, about 5 more minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a small microwave-safe bowl, combine mayo, honey, lemon juice, chili powder, and remaining dash salt. Whisk until smooth.

Just before serving, microwave mayo mixture for 20 seconds, or until hot. Stir until smooth. Add to the shrimp bowl and toss to coat. Serve (over steamed sugar snap peas, if you like) and top with walnuts. Enjoy!

Baked Calamari

Ingredients

4 oz. raw calamari rings (not breaded)
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tbsp. fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. salt
black pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour bread crumbs into a plastic container that has an airtight lid (or into a sealable plastic bag). Add panko, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and salt. Add pepper to taste. Seal and shake to mix thoroughly.

Make sure calamari rings are as dry as possible (Use a paper towel to soak up moisture.) Place them in a dish, and cover with egg substitute. Toss to coat evenly.

Transfer rings to the crumb mixture, and secure lid or seal bag. Shake until rings are thoroughly coated, and then place rings on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.

Bake calamari in the oven for 15 minutes, flipping them about halfway through, until firm and fully cooked.

The Perfect Protein!

First and foremost, ditto THIS post, only with Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane tea (peppermint). I just can't get enough of these Christmas flavored protein shakes!

Okay, now moving on to something equally as delicious. Pumpkin Protein Donuts. If you can't tell, I'm trying to get the most bang out of my buck with my SunWarrior protein powder and with all of the left over cans of pumpkin that I have. If you don't have a donut pan, no biggie. You can make muffins by doubling the recipe and by adding the chocolate chips directly to the batter. If making muffins, you may need to bake them a bit longer than the donuts.

Pumpkin Protein Donuts

Ingredients (6 donuts)

1 cup old fashioned oats, ground into oat flour
1/3/cup protein powder of your choice
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
stevia to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp)
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup non-dairy or organic milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP non-dairy chocolate chips


Instructions

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Grind oats into flour and combine into a large bowl with protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and stevia.
- In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, and vanilla. Stir.
- Add pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients and stir until just combined
- Spoon batter into donut (or muffin) pan that has been coated with cooking spray.
-Bake for 8-10 minutes until donuts are set and starting to brown. Allow donuts to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack
- While donuts are cooling, heat chocolate chips in microwave or double broiler. Drizzle chocolate evenly over cooled donuts. Allow chocolate set before eating.

Sugar Cookie in a Cup!

Today I drank a cookie and a darn good one too. Last week I went to Whole Foods and found a deal on Celestial Seasonings holiday teas, so I bought a few seasonal boxes. One of which was called Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride. By golly, it really does taste like a sugar cookie! Just when I thought it couldn't get any better than that, I found this recipe from MamaPea for a Sugar Cookie Smoothie. I tried it this morning and I really thought I was drinking a cookie through a straw...YUM! This recipe is vegan, but can easily be made using real milk products. Try this one. Seriously, it's for your own (guilt-free) good!

Sugar Cookie Smoothie

Makes 1 large smoothie

• 2 Celestial Seasonings Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride Tea Bags*
• 1 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk (can also use soy, regular milk, etc), divided
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder**
• 2 T. old fashioned oats
• 7-9 ice cubes
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract***
• 1/2 t. xanthan gum (optional, for thickening)
• pinch of salt
• stevia (or sugar)to taste

- Heat 1 cup of milk until nearly boiling and add 2 tea bags. Allow tea to steep for as long as desired. I kept the tea in the fridge overnight.

-When tea is fully steeped, remove tea bags and add tea, additional milk, protein powder, oats, ice, vanilla, xanthan gum (if using), salt and stevia (or sugar) in a blender.

-Blend until smooth, thick, and creamy.

- Serve and enjoy!

*I buy this tea at Whole Foods. If you can’t find it, feel free to substitute vanilla chai tea, eggnog tea or even peppermint tea.

**For info on the protein powder I use, see this site.

**To make an eggnog version of this shake, use 1/2 t. rum extract and add 1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg.