Tag Archives: Healthy Main Dish

Mediterranean Chicken Salad

There are so many varieties to chicken salad, and I love a good chicken salad recipe! It seems like every time I make one it is gobbled up to the point people are fighting over the last of it. Maybe I don’t make it often enough.

If you ask me, “Do we need another chicken salad recipe?”, it is a resounding “yes!”. Variety is important, and this Chicken Salad is very colorful! After all, we eat with our eyes first! The wonderful thing about this chicken salad is it is Mediterranean! Mmmm! So much flavor, and one of the healthiest ways to eat in the world. It has sundried tomato bruschetta, fresh basil (my favorite fresh herb), delicious roasted red peppers, black olives and the tang of red wine vinegar. It also has the crunch from fresh celery, and two kinds of onion flavor…..green onions and chives! You will need a whole roasted chicken, and I am totally all for a good store bought rotisserie chicken if you are tight on time. There are so many good ones, and many of them are gluten free. If you are making the chicken at home, you can oven roast it or use an instant pot to cook it. Another good trick of mine is to roast two chickens at once. One is for dinner that night, and I make the other one into chicken salad. It’s a time saver and smart cooking!

Chicken salad is such a great lunch option in my opinion. You can heap it over a salad, one of my favorite ways to eat it, make a sandwich, or serve it alongside something else. For dinner, I like to pull it out of the refrigerator after having made it earlier in the day, and then make some sides to go with it. It makes an easy dinner night that everyone here really loves. Did I mention Make Your Own Wrap night? That’s another winner. Just put out the wraps, the chicken salad and some toppings and sauces. People can make it their own. Another great thing about this recipe is, it is just as delicious, if not better, the next day with all the flavors melding. I do hope you will try this recipe, Let me know what you think!

Mediterranean Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 Whole Cooked Chicken, deboned, skin off and chopped

3/4 Cup of Sliced Black Olives

1/2 Cup of Sundried Tomato Bruschetta

1/2 cup of Fresh Basil, torn

1/2 cup of Sliced Green Onion (aka scallions)

1/3 Cup of Mediterranean Organic Roasted Red Peppers, diced

2 Stalks of Fresh Celery, diced and you can include the leaves too

1/3 Cup of Chopped Pecans or you can use Pine Nuts

1/4 Teaspoon of Salt

1/2 Teaspoon of Black Pepper

1 Tablespoon of Chives (fresh or dried)

1/2 Teaspoon of Dried Oregano

1/3 Cup of Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar

Directions: Whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, chives and oregano to make your dressing. Place all the other ingredients into a large bowl after chopping and prepping them as directed above, and then pour over the dressing and toss thoroughly. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! I’d love to hear from you.

Sundried Tomato, Basil, Chicken “Pasta”

Chicken, Tomato Basil Noodles

Good for you Pasta Bowls will all the flavor and more vegetables, less carbs!

That was the goal of this juicy chicken and pasta bowl.

Now I’m a girl who grew up with Pasta Sunday, and I still look forward to a big serving, but with a healthier twist that isn’t going to give my belly a pooch and have me slumping down on the sofa for the rest of the evening in a carbohydrate coma.

Chicken Tomato Basil Pasta Toss Grain Free

It is always a great idea to choose boneless chicken thighs if you don’t want to take the chance of getting a dry breast. Thighs just have more flavor, and according to Dr. Oz in his White Chicken Meat vs. Dark Chicken Meat episode by Food Journalist Mark Schatzker, we have been trained our whole life to go for the white meat as a healthier option but is it? That being said, if you use perfectly roasted chicken breasts in this recipe, they would be delicious too, just not as foolproof. There is definitely a time to use them, like in my new chicken salad recipe with lemon pepper and strawberries here! The key is they have to be roasted to perfection and not taken a minute beyond 165°F.

Now, onward!

I like to roast my spaghetti squash the day before in the oven while I am making that night’s dinner, let it cool, then shred it into noodles with a fork and refrigerate it until the next day when I plan to make this dish. You can also completely do it in the same day.

Chicken Tomato Basil Spaghetti Squash Noodles

You are killing two birds with one stone, and saving a bunch of time by prepping it a day in advance.

This is a super flavorful pasta with beautiful oregano, basil and garlic all over the cubed thighs that are browned on the stove and then finished in the oven in 20 minutes total time. While the thighs are roasting, the rest of the ingredients can be prepped. Then you pour the chicken juices (broth) with all the seasonings right over the pasta. There is not a lot of fat in it because the chicken in skinless, but there is a Lot of Flavor!

Chicken Sundried Tomato Basil Pasta Grain and Dairy Free

Sundried Tomato, Basil, Chicken Pasta

1 Roasted Spaghetti Squash, cooled and shredded into “noodles”

1 Red Onion, Diced

2 Tablespoons of EVOO

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil Packed Organic Sundried Tomatoes, diced

1 Cup of Sliced Scallions (green onions)

1/2 Cup of Fresh Basil

1 Can of Organic Mushrooms, drained

2 Pounds of Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs

1 Tablespoon of Dried Oregano

1 Tablespoon of Dried Basil

1 Tablespoon of EVOO

Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon of Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

2 Cloves of Minced Garlic

Directions:

Roast you spaghetti squash up to a day in advance. To roast the squash, preheat your oven to 400° degrees F. Split your spaghetti squash from stem to end and remove the seeds. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place it cut side down onto a rimmed cookie sheet. Roast 45 minutes to an hour, or until the top of the squash is soft when pressed.

Remove from the oven, and flip upright to cool completely. Shred the squash with fork tines. If using later, cover and refrigerate.

On the day you are making the dish:

Preheat the oven to 400° degrees F.

Whisk together the basil, oregano, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Brush the seasoning over your boneless chicken thighs. In a large skillet, brown the chicken thighs on each side for five minutes, using a little more olive oil if necessary to prevent sticking. Transfer the chicken thighs to a parchment lined cookie sheet, and place in the oven to finish cooking through for approximately ten minutes, or until the thermometer reaches 165° F. Remove the thighs from the oven, and when cool enough, cut each thigh into quarters. Reserve the chicken juices from the pan, this is the broth!

In the same uncleaned pan you used to cook the chicken, you will make the sauce. All the brown bits from the chicken are little nuggets of flavor.

Brown the diced red onion in two tablespoons of olive oil until tender. Add the sundried tomatoes, scallions and mushroom, and stir warming and incorporating them into the cooked onions. Now, add the previously prepped spaghetti squash and the chopped fresh basil. Toss with tongues to coat and evenly distribute the vegetables.

Add the chicken pieces and juices from the chicken to the “noodles” heating and incorporating gently.

Serve!

Sundried Tomato, Chicken and Basil Grain Free Pasta has tons of flavor! It uses boneless chicken thighs and is a perfect bowl noodles for Grain Free Pasta Night! Paleo, Dairy, Gluten and Grain Free.

Celebrating and Still Staying Healthy During the Holidays

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The holiday season is in full swing and so is cold and flu season. We all want to stay healthy and enjoy this festive time of the year. Indulging in too many sugary treats and processed food when temptation is all around us can derail our best intentions and set us up for unwanted weight gain, sluggishness, bloating, fatigue, lower immunity and brain fog.

We all want to enjoy the gatherings, parties and festivities. You don’t have to be perfect with your eating, but a little extra care and attention can make a very big difference on how you feel going into the New Year without having to sign up for a new gym membership or crash dieting.

A good way to stay energetic, positive and healthy through the holidays is to get in the kitchen and make some healthy meals and your own healthier treats and snacks to take to holiday gatherings.

Here’s a few ideas from the recipe index to get you started.

Butternut Squash Soup with Chicken and Vegetables

Beef Paprikash with Spaghetti Squash Noodles

Cocktail Meatballs with Honey Orange BBQ Sauce

Zucchini Tomato Quiche

Oven Roasted Carrots with Cumin, Lime and Pumpkin Seeds

Lacinato Kale with Garlic and Almonds

No Bake Peppermint Ice Caps

Roasted Red Pepper Tapanade

Very Vanilla Truffles

Vanilla Pear Bread

Sweet and Salty Spiced Nuts

Grain Free Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake

Enjoy your holidays, and remember, there are many other ways to be festive, and food is just one part. We all love to eat, but other activities can be just as rewarding, if not more so in the long run, such as playing board games, going ice skating or other outdoor activities, playing good music, enjoying all the lights and decorations, taking in a movie (I’m thinking the new Star Wars), meeting someone for a coffee date, finding a new favorite read, watching movie classics, or even starting a new traditional food favorite that is good for you that people look forward to every year including yourself!

Happy and Healthy!

Sam

Chicken Pizza Paillards

Chicken Pizza Paillairds

Paillards is a French term for pounded or thinly sliced meat. Paillards are quick cooking and tender. For these Chicken Pizza Paillards, I used Primal Palate’s Super Gyro Seasoning Blend. It is my favorite gluten free seasoning blend of Himalayan pink salt oregano, marjoram, thyme, and garlic. This is a fabulous, juicy chicken dish! A quick tip I got from Rachel Ray, buy boneless chicken breasts in bulk for savings, and pound them into paillards and freeze between sheets of parchment. Then when you want to make a quick cooking chicken dinner, you can just pull the amount you want out of the freezer. They thaw very quickly!

Chicken Pizza Paillards

Ingredients:

4 Boneless Chicken Breasts

16 Oz. of White Button Mushrooms, Sliced

6 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Pizza Sauce (I used Muir Glen Organic which has no Sugar Added)

Fresh Basil, Chopped

3 Tablespoons of Aged Balsamic Vinegar (my favorite is 18 year old from Fustinis)

Super Gyro Seasoning Blend

Sea Salt

Directions: Preheat your oven to 350° degrees F. Pound the chicken breasts to about a half inch thick using a meat pounder, and cover the chicken with plastic wrap when pounding to prevent splatter. Slice the mushrooms, and add them to a cast iron skillet with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Sprinkle with a generous double pinch of sea salt, and cook over medium high heat for ten to fifteen minutes until nice and golden brown. When they are golden brown, add in 3 tablespoons of aged balsamic vinegar and cook until it has evaporated and infused into the mushrooms. Set aside.

In a large nonstick, oven-safe skillet, add the last 3 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Season your pounded chicken generously with Super Gyro Seasoning by Primal Palate on both sides. (A nice even coat. The amount depends on the surface area of your chicken. I like to be generous) Add the seasoned chicken to the hot skillet and cook for 4 minutes a side or until golden brown on each side. Now, pop the chicken into the oven for five minutes, or until the center of the chicken reaches 165° degrees. While the chicken is in the oven, heat up the pizza sauce.

Remove the chicken from the oven and top each breast with the hot pizza sauce, 1/4 of the mushrooms and sprinkle with chopped basil.

Enjoy!

Sandra

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