Pasta with Turkey Sausage and Kale

Pasta with Turkey Sausage and Kale

2 cups whole wheat pasta (I used penne)

1/8 tsp salt

1 pound turkey sausage

4 cups kale, chopped

2 cups chicken broth

3 TB parmesan cheese

Salt water to boil pasta. Boil pasta and set aside

Meanwhile, fry sausage. When done, add chopped kale and cook till slightly wilted, about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and cook till kale is tender about 6-10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Cover with lid occasionally to prevent liquid from boiling away. Add cooked pasta, sprinkle with parm. cheese, and stir to blend.

Pass extra parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top.

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients
3 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin and cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons butter, divided
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 TB water
2 TB brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions
Season chicken with salt and pepper.
Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 1 tablespoons of butter with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 3 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate.

Melt 1 more tablespoon butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the remaining pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner.
Remove chicken to the plate.
Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock, capers, and 2 TB water.
Bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor.
Check for seasoning.
Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove chicken to platter.
Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously.
Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Yummy served with rice pilaaf!

Vegetable Peanut Stir Fry with Pork

about 3/4 pound lean pork, sliced thin.
2-3 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp oil (I used olive oil and sesame oil)
1 TB creamy peanut butter

2 tsp. oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups uncooked bokchoy, chopped
1 cup uncooked carrots, chopped (about 2 medium carrots)
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
8 oz fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 cups snow peas
2 cups uncooked asparagus, cut into 2-inch peices
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup canned chicken broth, reduced-sodium
8 Tbsp peanuts, dry roasted, chopped (or leave whole)
4 cups cooked white or brown rice, kept hot

Instructions
Heat oil in wok or large skillet over high heat. Sprinkle cornstarch and garlic salt over meat. Stir-fry till golden brown and almost cooked through. Remove from heat. Quickly stir in peanut butter and remove meat to plate for later.

Wipe peanut butter out of pan. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add onion, bok choy, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, snowpeas and asparagus; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add soy sauce and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 1 minute more. Whisk cornstarch into broth in a small cup and add to pan; simmer until sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Return meat to pan and top with peanuts. Stir through and allow all to get hot and bubbly.

To serve:
Spoon about 1/2 cup of rice into bowl or plate, top with about 1 and 1/2 cup of veggie/peanut/meat mixture.

Chicken Sausage Soup with Cabbage and Apple (optional)

2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 TB olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces chicken apple sausage, sliced
6 cups chicken broth
1 large potato, peeled and chunked
3 cups thinly sliced cabbage, rough chopped
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
2 cups Granny Smith apple (optional) I did not use apple
1 TB cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add caraway and fennel: cook 2 minutes. If you can, grind in a spice or coffee grinder. I did not have one, so I just set the heated spices aside.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic; cook 6-7 minutes. Add sausage; cook 1 minute. Add spices; cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Add chicken broth and potato; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Increase heat to high. Add cabbage, chicken, and other remaining ingredients; cook 3-5 minuts.

Rachaels Ray's Sausage, Peppers, and Chicken Thighs Over Cheesy Polenta

This is a Rachael Ray recipe.
Yum-O!
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Salt and pepper
Flour, for dredging
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 pound hot Italian sausage
1 small bulb fresh fennel, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 cubanelle pepper, halved, seeded and thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 chili pepper, such as a Fresno pepper, thinly sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup dry white or red wine
1 can Italian tomatoes (28 ounces)
3 cups chicken stock, divided
A few leaves of basil, torn
2 cups milk
1 cup quick-cooking polenta
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Serves 6
Preparation
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour.
Heat a few tablespoons EVOO over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven and brown the chicken well, 5 minutes on each side.
Remove to plate, add more EVOO and brown and crumble the sausage. Remove to plate with the chicken.
Add the fennel, onion, peppers and garlic to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Let soften, 5-7 minutes, then stir in the tomato paste.
Cook for 1 minute, deglaze with the wine, then add the tomatoes and 2 cups stock, breaking up the tomatoes.
Add the reserved sausage and chicken back to the pot, a few leaves of torn basil and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally over low heat.

Bring the remaining cup of chicken stock and milk to a low boil in a saucepot.
Whisk in the polenta and thicken for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the butter and the cheese. Serve the polenta in bowls topped with the chicken, sausage, and pepper mixture.

Chicken with Asparagus, Penne Pasta, and Pesto Sauce

3 large boneless-skinless chicken breasts
2 pounds asparagus
1 bunch green onions
olive oil
garlic salt
pepper
4 TB basil pesto
4 TB sour cream (use low fat if you want)
8 oz. whole wheat penne pasta (or other favorite pasta)
4 TB parm cheese

Cut chicken breasts into 1 inch slices. In a hot skillet prepped with olive oil, fry chicken pieces till golden brown. If there is too much liquid produced from the chicken, skim some off. The chicken will brown up better with less liquid in the pan. Remove chicken pieces to a plate and set aside. In the meantime, cook your pasta to your liking and set it aside.

Cut asparagus into bite sized pieces (about 2 inches or so). Slice green onions, including green tops. Add the veggies to the skillet the chicken was in. Add 2 TB or so liquid (water, broth, or wine) to the pan to deglaze it and get all the browned bits up. Cook veggies till crisp tender. Add the basil pesto, and the sour cream. Stir well and add back the chicken pieces. Add pasta and mix well. Sprinkle parm cheese on top and serve.

Chicken with Lemony Spinach and Mushrooms

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
olive oil
salt, pepper, dried dill

1 tsp. sugar
1 TB corn starch
2 tsps. lemon zest
3 TB fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup chicken broth

1 bag (9 ounces) spinach (or more if you really like fresh spinach)
8-10 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 TB capers

Sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and dill. Heat 2 TB olive oil in pan and brown chicken breasts on both sides. Cook just till barely done. Remove chicken to plate.

Add mushrooms to pan and cook till slightly browned. Add a small bit of water if needed to bring up browned bits from cooking chicken. Add spinach and cook, stirring often till wilted. A WHOLE pan of spinach will wilt down to almost nothing. Add broth/lemon juice mixture and cook till thickened and bubbly. Return breasts to pan and add capers. Allow to bubble, thicken slightly, and heat through.

1 serving = chicken breast and about 2/3 cup spinach/mushroom mixture.

I served this with a wild rice/bulghar pilaaf.

Very yummy and HEALTHY! Low fat too!