Moo Goo Gai Pan

The Chinese title explains this dish: Moo goo means "button mushroom", gai means "chicken" and pan means "slices". I got this recipe from an online friend named Bootsie. It has become a favorite especially when the peas are on in the garden...which is now. YAY!

The key to this recipe is not overcooking so pay attention to the times.

4 boneless, skinless breast halves

2 T. water

2 T. rice wine vinegar

2 T. soy sauce

2 t. cornstarch

2 T. cooking oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 ounces small whole mushrooms or large mushrooms halved

3 cups Chinese cabbage or regular cabbage, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 6 oz package frozen pea pods, thawed or fresh

Cut the chicken into thin, bite-size pieces. (which is easier to do if partially frozen).

In a small bowl combine water, vinegar, soy sauce and cornstarch. Set aside.

Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add cooking oil (add more oil as necessary during stir-frying.) Stir-fry garlic in hot oil over high heat for 3o seconds.

Add mushrooms and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Remove from wok.

Add cabbage and pea pods and stir-fry for 1 minute more. Remove from wok.

Add chicken to the wok and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or till done. Push meat from center of wok and pour sauce in to the center. Cook and stir until the sauce is thickened and bubbly.

Stir in vegetables. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Serve with hot cooked rice.

Serves 4

Chicken Soup

4 Chicken Breasts

Chicken Broth

Place chicken breasts in a pot with enough chicken broth to cover the breasts. Bring to a simmer and simmer gently for 6 minutes. Turn heat off, cover and let sit for 15 minutes then shred or cube the chicken.

In a saute pan over medium, heat 2 T. olive oil

add:

1 onion

1 clove garlic

saute for 1-2 minutes

Add

2 stalks celery

4 carrots

1 t. salt (I omitted because of the chicken broth)

1/4 t. pepper

3T. parsley

Cook until softened and add to the chicken and chicken broth.

Stir in 1-2 T. fresh pesto and serve.

This is so good! My son who doesn't like pesto and is not a soup fan, LOVED it. He keeps asking me to make it again.

Chicken Burritos

When you haven't been grocery shopping with a menu in a very long time (like me). You make things you might not consider otherwise. This is one of those "otherwise" recipes. All healthy ingredients (which was my first priority), very easy to make (my other first priority) and in spite of the non-traditional ingredients surprisingly good!

I'll make these again.

Here's what the filling looked like before rolling them up. Kind of pretty huh?

I'm not a huge fan of whole wheat tortillas but I found a La Flor whole wheat uncooked tortilla at Macey's that is pretty good.

And here is what mine looked like while I was eating it.

These were very filling. You could totally fatten these up with cheese and sour cream or a number of other traditional burrito ingredients but not me...not today. I'm trying to behave in the cholesterol, fat, whole food category and recipes like this make it easy.

Ingredients

1 medium green pepper, chopped (I used a mixture of red and green)

1 medium zucchini, chopped

12 oz. chicken breast, cooked, skinless, cubed

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed or fresh

1/2 small onion, minced

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

1/2 t. cumin

1/2 t. chili powder

4 T green sauce (optional but so good)

6 flour tortillas

2 cups salsa

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F

In a nonstick pan, lightly saute pepper and onion until slightly cooked, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the zucchini, chicken, corn, green sauce and saute for 1 - 2 minutes more. Do NOT overcook. Nobody likes mushy zucchini!

Add the cumin, chili powder and sour cream.

Divide mixture among 6 tortillas. Fold in sides and roll closed. Place opening-side down in a baking pan, cover burritos with salsa. Bake until tortillas begin to brown and filling warms through, 15 - 20 minutes.

Serves 6

8 points-4 of those are the tortilla

Slow Cooker Island BBQ Chicken

Got the photo and recipe at Perry's Plate (one of my favorite recipe blogs). It was Yum-O!!!

2 pounds chicken breasts (I used boneless/skinless)

salt and pepper to taste

1 whole medium onion, sliced thinly

1/4 cups raisins

1 bottle of fruity barbecue sauce (18-20 oz bottle, guava, mango or pineapple)

(I just used my favorite Jack Daniel's bbq sauce)

2 T. balsamic vinegar

6 Sandwich Buns

Place chicken breasts into slow cooker and sprinkle salt and pepper to both sides. Add sliced onion and raisins. Pour 3/4 of the bottle of barbecue sauce and balsamic vinegar over chicken and combine. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

When cooking is complete, remove the chicken from the crock pot, take 2 forks and gently pull apart. I used some of the juice (about half) from the crock pot and put it back into the chicken then discarded the rest. I then added some more bbq sauce (not much) until it was as saucy as I wanted.

Serve on a bun (I used a whole wheat thin bun) and top with coleslaw.

The tart in the coleslaw and the sweet in the chicken makes the perfect combination!

I doubled the chicken recipe ingredients except for the onion. And I just used bbq sauce to my discretion (not quite doubling).

Balsamic Chicken With Mushrooms

Ingredients

2 tsp. olive oil (divided)

3 T. balsamic vinegar (divided)

2 t. Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic clove, crushed

4-4 oz. uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups mushrooms, small, halved

1/3 cup canned chicken broth

1/4 t. dried thyme, crumbled

2 T. sun-dried tomatoes (optional)

1 T. capers (optional)

Instructions

In a non stick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of oil.

In a medium bowl, mix 2 T. of vinegar, the mustard and garlic. Add chicken and turn to coat.

Transfer chicken and marinade skillet. Saute chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes each side. Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm.

Heat remaining teaspoon of oil in skillet. Saute mushrooms for 1 minute. Add broth, thyme and remaining tablespoon of vinegar. Cook stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are deep brown, about 2 minutes longer. Toss in capers and sun-dried tomatoes.

Serve chicken topped with mushrooms.

(4 points)

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

8 small boneless skinless chicken thighs (1 lb.)

3 T. flour

1/3 cup orange marmalade

1/3 cup Barbecue Sauce (I use Jack Daniel's)

2 T. soy sauce

1 T. grated fresh gingerroot

Put chicken in a crock pot sprayed with cooking spray, sprinkle with flour and toss to coat.

Mix remaining ingredients and stir into the chicken; cover and cook until chicken is tender.

Original recipe (from Kraft Foods) says to cook on LOW 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.

My crock pot is so large that 8 thighs don't take up much room and the crock pot cooks very hot. It only took about an hour on LOW for these to be done. I turned them down to warm and let them simmer for another hour. They were DELICIOUS!!! I served them with rice and Asian stir fry vegies sprinkled with cashews.

"Chinese Takeout" Lemon Chicken

Cooking spray

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips

2 cups snow peas

1 small red pepper, cut into strips

1 pkg (4-serving size) Jell-O Brand Lemon Flavor Gelatin

1 T. cornstarch

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 T. Zesty Italian Dressing

2 cloves garlic, minced

Heat a large nonstick skillet (that you've sprayed with cooking spray) over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 min. or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Add snow peas and peppers; cook and stir 2 min.

Mix dry gelatin mix and cornstarch in small bowl. Add broth, dressing and garlic; stir until gelatin is dissolved. Add to skillet. Reduce heat to medium; cook 3 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring frequently.

Serve over hot cooked rice, if desired. Really good with egg rolls. Makes 4 (1 cup) servings. Recipe from Kraft Foods.

Fiesta Chicken Sandwich

Layer on a whole wheat toasted bun

Grilled Chicken

Cheese

Avocado slices

Bacon slices

Ranch dressing mixed with a little taco seasoning

This is Lisa's creation and they are yummy. She says they are best served really warm.

Chicken Breasts with Strawberry-Blueberry Chutney

My father-in-law found this recipe in the newspaper and thought it looked like something I would like and he was right!

2 t. canola oil
1/2 c. chopped red onion

Heat the oven to 375F. In a small saucepan over medium, heat the canola oil. Add the onion and saute until softened, about 4 minutes. Then add:

2 c. quartered strawberries
1/2 c. dried blueberries
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 T. red wine vinegar
2 t. minced fresh ginger

Bring to a boil, then cook over medium-high heat, stirring often until the berries are softened and breaking down, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

In a shallow dish combine:

1/4 c. flour
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lbs)

Dredge both sides of each breast through the seasoned flour. In a large nonstick oven-safe skillet over medium, heat 1 T. of extra-virgin olive oil. Add the chicken and brown on both sides.

Transfer the chicken to the oven and bake until juices run clear or internal temperature reaches 165F.

Serve the chicken topped with strawberry and blueberry chutney.