Chicken Piccata

If you are a fan of lemon chicken, you will love this chicken piccata! The sauce was so flavorful without being too heavy. I made some organic steamed broccoli and wild rice to go with this - making the broccoli the main part of the meal. While meat and poultry are good for us, we try to make the vegetables the focal point of our meal and the meat the "side." So we cut each of the pieces of chicken in half and had 2-3 ounce servings of chicken. This is a great meal for a weeknight if you have a half an hour to prepare it, but would also be a great meal for company without taking too much time! 

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients

1 pound organic free-range boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper, for seasoning

1/3 cup all purpose flour

4 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup organic chicken stock

1/4 cup capers

1/4 cup fresh organic parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Place chicken breasts in gallon-sized sealable bag and pound with meat tenderizing mallet until thin (~1/4 inch thickness). Season with salt and pepper on both sides and dredge in flour, shaking to remove excess.

2. In large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp butter with 3 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until browned. Transfer chicken to a plate.

3. Add lemon juice, chicken stock and capers to pan and bring to a boil, scraping brown bits from bottom. Return chicken to pan and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Place chicken on serving dish. Whisk remaining 2 Tbsp butter into sauce in pan and pour sauce over top of chicken. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

(Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentils' Chicken Piccata recipe from 

foodnetwork.com)

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Chicken is an excellent source of protein and is rich in B vitamins. Olive oil contains monounsaturated fatty acids, which have been shown to help lower bad cholesterol (LDL), raise good cholesterol (HDL), and aid in blood sugar control. Butter is rich in vitamins E, K and D. Broccoli is packed with vitamins C and K, and is also a good source of folate and calcium. Wild rice is a great source of protein and antioxidants, as well as vitamins A, C and E.

Pine Nut & Parmesan Kale Salad

We recently had a kale salad made by Sunset Foods that was so amazing, I had to try to re-create it! So here is my attempt, and I have to say it turned out pretty darn close to what I was trying to re-create. Luckily for me, Sunset included a list of ingredients on the deli label, so all I had to do was play with amounts. The salad from Sunset had currants in it, but I couldn't find them fresh or dried in the store I went to, so just left them out. I made this as a side to go with pasta, but would be good as a side with pretty much anything. This is a really great tasting way to get some fresh dark leafy greens in and is a nice alternative to a plain old salad for summer meals and get-togethers! 

Pine Nut & Parmesan Kale Salad

Ingredients

6 oz fresh organic baby kale leaves
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. If not pre-washed, wash and pat-dry kale. Place kale in large bowl.

2. In small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, honey and olive oil. Drizzle dressing over kale leaves and toss to evenly coat. Sprinkle with pine nuts and parmesan and gently fold in.

What are the nutritional benefits of this salad? Kale is an excellent source of vitamins A, C and K. It is also a good source of minerals calcium, copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorous. Balsamic vinegar is rich in polyphenols - a type of antioxidant. Rice vinegar contains lots of essential amino acids, which play a role in countless processes in the body. Olive oil contains monounsaturated fatty acids, which have been shown to help lower bad cholesterol (LDL), raise good cholesterol (HDL), and aid in blood sugar control. Pine nuts contain lutein (which is good for vision), monounsaturated fats (shown to help reduce bad cholesterol - LDL - and increase good cholesterol - HDL), Vitamins C and D, and minerals iron and magnesium. Parmesan cheese is a great source of protein and calcium.

Slow Cooker Lemon Dill Chicken

This was definitely an easy slow-cooker keeper! Baking a whole chicken in the oven is pretty simple, but being able to toss the chicken in the slow cooker and leave the house is really nice. This chicken was so tender, it was falling apart when I went to take it out of the crock pot. This would be great at any time if the year, but the lemon and dill combination would make a really nice summer time dinner. For some healthy sides, I made brown rice and some steamed broccoli - a great, healthy, balanced meal!

Slow Cooker Lemon Dill Chicken

Ingredients

1 large yellow onion, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1/4 tsp grated lemon peel
4-5 pound organic free-range whole broiler/fryer chicken
1/4 cup organic chicken stock
4 sprigs fresh organic parsley
4 sprigs fresh organic dill
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions

1. Place chopped onion in bottom of slow cooker. Combine butter and lemon peel in small bowl.

2. Tie legs together with cooking twine and rub whole chicken with butter/lemon peel mixture. Place fresh parsley and dill sprigs in cavity. Place chicken in slow cooker, breast side up, and tuck wings underneath. 

3. Drizzle chicken stock and lemon juice over chicken and sprinkle with remaining dried seasonings. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. 

4. Remove chicken from slow cooker and let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

(Recipe adapted from April/May 2014 issue of Taste of Home magazine)

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Chicken is an excellent source of protein and is rich in B vitamins. Brown rice is unrefined, so contains it's original abundance of iron, zinc, manganese, selenium, antioxidants and fiber. Broccoli is packed with vitamins C and K, and is also a good source of folate and calcium.