Author: Lisa P

Magically Steamed Green Beans

Posted on by Lisa P

To make super easy steamed green beans, simply add a small bag of pre-cut and pre-washed green beans to a rice cooker while you are making the rest of your dinner.  Follow the directions on your steamer.  Here’s the one I use.

Result: Beautifully steamed green beans with 30 seconds of effort!

P.S. I recommend setting the timer for 5 minutes less than the instructions, otherwise they come out a tad overdone.

P.P.S. Spend an extra minute trimming off the ends, which can get brown or soft after a few days in the frig. While you’re at it cut the longer ones in half and make them more uniformly sized, insuring they’ll all be cooked to the same doneness.

Healthy Chicken Piccata with Spinach (GF)

Posted on by Lisa P

Serves: 4 people
Hands-on time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min

This recipe started as a much higher-calorie version of chicken piccata from Cook’s Illustrated magazine. I replaced the all purpose flour with millet flour to make it gluten free, omitted the shallots and parsley, used pre-minced garlic, and reduced the quantities of oil and butter by almost half. The result is a healthy chicken piccata that is much lower in calories while still retaining the delicious flavor. The spinach at the end was also my personal touch, which I think makes the dish more complete (and prettier!). [Side note: The original recipe was way too lemony for my taste so I cut that back as well. Feel free to add more lemon back in if you like it that way.] Continue reading “Healthy Chicken Piccata with Spinach (GF)” →

Magically Steamed Baby Carrots

Posted on by Lisa P

To make super easy steamed baby carrots, simply add a small bag of baby-cut carrots to a rice cooker while you are making the rest of your dinner.  Follow the directions on your steamer.  Here’s the one I use.

Result: Beautifully steamed baby carrots with 30 seconds of effort!

P.S. I recommend setting the timer for 5 minutes less than the instructions, otherwise they come out a tad overdone.

Chicken Piccata (adapted from Cooks Illustrated)

Posted on by Lisa P

Serves: 4-6 people
Hands-on time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min

This is one of those recipes that looks complicated because of the number of steps involved, but once you get started it goes pretty quick. Even so, it is a tad longer than 30 minutes but totally worth the extra time! Continue reading “Chicken Piccata (adapted from Cooks Illustrated)” →

Polenta Sausage Skillet

Posted on by Lisa P

Substitute leftover chicken sausage for the ground turkey. Chop the cold sausages into small pieces.

  1. Skip the turkey browning in step 3, add sausage when you add the marinara sauce.
  2. Omit meat altogether, or substitute 1/2 can (drained) of chickpeas to make this a vegetarian dish.
  3. Use the spaghetti sauce you made on Sunday night for the marinara sauce.
  4. Omit oregano (the sauce has plenty)

Chicken and Arugula Tortilla Wraps

Posted on by Lisa P

INGREDIENTS

Pan #1

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 – 14 oz can of small dice organic tomatoes
  • 1 Tbsp chopped garlic
  • 12 ounces raw or cooked chicken, cut into small pieces
  • 2-3 cups arugula
  • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1-2 tsp crushed dried red pepper, or to taste

Pan #2

  • 5-8 GF corn tortillas

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a medium skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Add tomatoes, chopped garlic and red pepper flakes; sauté 2 minutes.
  2. Add chicken, stir and and cook a couple of 2 minutes. If using raw chicken make sure it is opaque when determining doneness.
  3. Stir in arugula and balsamic vinegar. Reduce heat to low; cook until arugula wilts. Season with salt and pepper if desired and keep warm.
  4. Meanwhile, heat a small skillet (Pan #2) over medium heat. Add tortillas one at a time and heat for about 1 minute per side.
  5. Serve chicken and arugula in tortillas. Add optional toppings such as salsa, chopped olives,
    thinly sliced cabbage, etc.