Italian Chicken Skillet

This chicken recipe is another one that's easy to make and it doesn't take too long to cook.  Those are my favorite kind of recipes.  You can save a little preparation time by chopping the vegetables the day before.  Leftovers keep well in the fridge for lunch the next day, or you can even freeze them for weeks.

I have a friend who is a busy working mom, and she prepares several main dishes on Sunday to serve her family for the coming week.  She simply freezes them and then will move the meal into the refrigerator the night before she plans to serve the meal.  It's thawed and ready to reheat and serve to her family when she comes home from work.  This recipe would work well for her.

ITALIAN CHICKEN SKILLET

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1/4 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can (4 oz) low sodium sliced mushrooms
1 can (14 oz) low sodium diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

In large skillet, saute chicken over medium heat until browned.  Remove and keep warm.  In same skillet, saute vegetables until tender and return chicken to skillet.  Combine tomatoes, vinegar, and seasonings and pour over chicken and vegetables.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  Uncover and simmer for 10 minutes longer.  (I didn't simmer the last 10 minutes because the chicken was cooked through after 30 minutes.)

Lemon Mushroom Soup with Orzo

I believe that I have mentioned before that my favorite local restaurant is Popolano's.  Take a look at their website: http://popolanosrestaurant.com/ and drop by for a visit if you're nearby.  They have delicious American food with daily specials always worth a try.

While I was dining at Popolano's recently, one of the daily specials was Lemon Mushroom Orzo Soup.  I was intrigued because it sounded both good and gross at the same time.  I was feeling slightly adventuresome that day so I ordered the soup.  I have to say that it was one of the best soups that I've ever eaten.

Needless to say, I had to attempt my own low sodium version at home.  It's slightly different, of course, but delicious nonetheless.

My motto for food: Try it because it just might be the best thing you've ever eaten.  I keep telling my niece and nephews that when they refuse to try new dishes.  They begrudgingly try the food and insist they don't like it.  My favorite part is later, when I discover that they've eaten all the yucky food they didn't like.

LEMON MUSHROOM SOUP WITH ORZO

Ingredients:
2 cans (8 oz) low sodium sliced mushrooms (You can use fresh too, I'm lazy)
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup uncooked orzo

Preparation:
In large saucepan, combine all ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat a simmer 20 minutes.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Winter is the best time for soup.  In Chicago, this winter has been especially mild so I haven't made as much soup as I normally do.  I often throw leftovers from dinner into a pot and add some bouillon and seasonings.  Then I have soup for lunch for the next couple of days.

I make cream soups for meals the first time around.  I guess I consider them "fancy" soups.  Cream soups don't freeze well, so I can't make a huge batch and save leftovers for later.

Cream soups are not the healthiest of things to eat, but using milk instead of cream makes delicious soup without all the fat.

I have tried the canned healthy versions of cream of mushroom soup and I think they taste awful.  This version is much better.

CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

Ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter
3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms or 2 4-ounce cans of no salt sliced mushrooms
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 (14.5) ounce cans low sodium chicken broth
1 cup low fat milk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons vinegar

Preparation:
In large saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender.  Add mushrooms and saute until tender. 

Combine flour and broth until smooth; stir into the mushroom mixture. 

Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. 

Reduce heat.  Stir in the milk, pepper, and garlic powder.  Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes stirring often.  Add vinegar and heat through.

Chicken Marsala

One day, I was going through cookbooks and my collection of recipes searching for some recipes that I had never tried and I could make low sodium.  Chicken Marsala caught my eye because it wasn't already loaded with sodium or fat.  If you haven't already guessed by now, chicken is my favorite meat (besides ham which I don't eat very often because it's so high in fat and sodium).  I decided to investigate further. 

I am not a talented cook by any stretch of the imagination. Even though I have watched many episodes of The French Chef with my best friend, Diane as a child, I still have no idea of how to do many things in the kitchen. I will try to do almost anything as long as I have the tools and some instructions. I had always thought that Chicken Marsala was a fancy dish, and therefore difficult to make. How wrong I was! It is actually very easy to make and doesn't take too long either.

I am not a wine drinker and cannot taste the difference in wines. This recipe calls for Marsala wine; I usually use sherry in its place. You may also use chicken broth if you would like to keep the recipe alcohol free.

CHICKEN MARSALA 

Ingredients

3 skinless chicken breasts

¼ cup flour

¼ teaspoon marjoram

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 tablespoons sliced green onion

3 tablespoons margarine/ butter

¼ cup low sodium chicken broth

¼ cup Marsala wine

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Place chicken breasts in plastic zip bag and pound to about ¼” thick.  In shallow dish, stir flour, marjoram, and pepper.  Flour chicken and set aside.  In large skillet over medium heat, cook mushrooms, green onion, and butter until tender and remove from skillet. 

In skillet over medium-high heat, brown chicken in butter. 

Return mushrooms and onions.  Add broth and wine and cook for 2-3 minutes.