Never Cry Over a Forgotton Lunch

Early on a recent morning, I arrived at work, and nearly broke down and cried.  I am by no means a morning person, and on that particular morning had woken up in a good deal of pain, most likely caused by something I shouldn't have eaten over the weekend.  But, the cause for my almost-tears wasn't just the bad morning, but also because I discovered that I left my lunch at home.  It was shaping up to be one of those days that I wished I had called in sick, slept for the next 24 hours, and tried again tomorrow.

The saddest part of realizing that I left my lunch bag (full of all my healthy food for the day) at home was knowing that the leftovers from one of my favorite dinners was going to sit on the counter all day and spoil and all that yummy deliciousness was going to waste.  Not to mention I would have to go out and buy lunch for the day, and it wouldn't be as healthy or tasty.

Of all my favorite dinners, this is probably my favorite.  It's based off the  Chicken, Mushrooms, and Artichoke Hearts in a Roasted Lemon Sauce recipe from For The Love Of Cooking.

Usually I serve this over gluten-free pasta or rice, but this time I served it over spaghetti squash.  I liked it better than over rice, and it was a healthier choice than rice or pasta.  If you don't know how to cook spaghetti squash, my friend Mo has a great tutorial on how to cook them.

Lemon and Artichoke Heart Chicken

1.5 lbs organic boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 4-6 pieces)
1/2 cup brown rice flour
Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 lb crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 cup white wine (or substitute with 1c. chicken stock)

2 cups chicken stock

1 can of artichoke hearts (in water, drained) cut in quarters

1 can black olives, drained

1 cup grape tomatoes

1/4 cup capers

Juice of 2-3 lemons

Fresh cooked rice, pasta, or spaghetti squash for serving

Place brown rice flour in a shallow bowl or a pie plate.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Rinse the chicken, and pat dry with a paper towel.  Coat the chicken completely in the seasoned flour.

 Heat a large deep skillet with coconut oil over medium high heat.   Cook chicken until browned and cooked all the way through, about 8-10 minutes.  Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. 

Add mushrooms and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of the remaining seasoned brown rice flour over the mushrooms and stir to coat.  Add wine and stir to de-glaze the pan.  Slowly stir in chicken broth, allowing sauce to thicken to desired consistency. Add artichoke hearts, olives, tomatoes, capers, and lemon juice.  Continue to stir about 3-5 minutes, until heated throughout. 

Serve immediately over fresh cooked rice, pasta, or spaghetti squash.  

What are Street Lemons?

If you drive around my town these days, especially in the older, established areas, you will find citrus trees loaded full of lemons, oranges, and other citrus fruits.  Our climate is ideal for citrus and it seems every house has at least one fruit-bearing tree.  

My sister told me that she recently made some lemon bars out of "street lemons."  

"What are street lemons?" 

"Oh you know, when you are on a walk, they are the lemons you get from trees that are hanging into the street."

(Don't worry, she didn't trespass, just "gleaned" from neglected trees that were already dropping fruit everywhere) 

Because I have several grocery bags of lemons generously given to me by my family from their over-abundant trees, I am trying to incorporate lemons in our meals as much as possible.

This day, I was craving a pasta dish, so I decided to make a creamy lemon pasta.  I served it with a side of baked salmon seasoned with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. 
 

Creamy Lemon Pasta with Spinach and Artichoke Hearts 

16 oz brown rice spaghetti
2 tsp coconut oil
6 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly (I love this new gadget I got!)
Juice from 2-3 lemons
8oz cream cheese (organic or non-dairy)
2 tbl capers
1 can artichoke hearts
8oz baby spinach chopped
Fresh ground salt and pepper

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.  Drain, rinse, and set aside.  

In a large, deep skillet, heat coconut oil over medium.  Add garlic slices, and cook for about a minute, taking care not to let the garlic burn.  Add lemon juice and cream cheese, and heat until cream cheese is melted, being careful not to let it boil, reducing the heat as necessary.  Add capers and artichoke hearts and heat thoroughly, about 3 minutes.  Add pasta and spinach and toss until sauce completely coats pasta and everything is mixed throughout the pasta.  Season to taste with fresh ground salt and pepper.  Serve by itself or with a side of your favorite seafood (baked salmon or sauteed shrimp and my favorite choices).

Quinoa Edamame Salad

When we went to Game 6 of the NLCS, we stopped at the store and got some snacks to eat before the game. We got some quinoa edamame salad (the only gluten free choice) in the deli along with a bunch of other goodies.  After one bite, I knew I had to try to recreate it at home.  Luckily the ingredient list was on the container so it didn't take too much to figure out what I would need.

It is great as a meal or a side dish. I've made this several times and so has my friend.  Last time she also added a can of drained  and rinsed black beans and it was even better!

Quinoa Edamame Salad

1 cup of quinoa, cooked according to package directions and cooled to room temperature
2 cups shelled edamame
2 cups corn kernals
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 bunch of cilantro leaves, chopped
6 ounces crumbled feta cheese (I use raw goat feta)
1 small red onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 small jalapeño, seeded and minced
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice from 2 lemons (at least 1/4 cup)
Salt and Pepper


Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Lemony Basil Spinach Pesto (Vegan)

The other day, I was really craving some pesto, but my basil plant didn't really have enough leaves to make a batch.  But I did have a giant tub of spinach from Costco wilting away in the back of my fridge.   I used a small handful of basil and the entire tub of spinach and came out with a small bowl of yummy pesto.  It amazed me how little pesto I actually got compared to the massive amount of spinach I had.  A costco tub of spinach is ginormous!

I followed the same general steps that I used for my dairy-free basil pesto, except this time, I used raw pine nuts and did not toast them.   

Once again, I forgot to take a picture of this creation.  Which is really sad, because it turned such a beautiful bright shade of green.  I ended up freezing most of this in ice cube trays and then store the pesto cubes in a Ziploc so I have pesto all winter.   

Lemony Basil Spinach Pesto

1 small handful basil leaves

1 - 1lb tub of spinach

3 cloves garlic (I love my fermented garlic)

1/4 c. raw pine nuts

Juice and zest of 2 lemons

+/- 1/2 c. Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Put the basil, spinach, garlic and nuts in a food processor and pulse until everything is chopped.  Add lemon juice and zest.  Turn on food processor and slowly drizzle in olive oil until it reaches desired consistency.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Use immediately, store in a sealed container in the fridge for about 7-10 days, or freeze.