Artichokes Archives - Strength and Sunshine

Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala

February 17, 2016 by Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine 108 Comments

Chicken slow cooked with loads of vegetables and marsala wine. Slow cooker chicken marsala is a no-fuss and fun twist on the Italian classic. A perfect healthy gluten-free and paleo weeknight dinner recipe the whole family will enjoy!

Kind of…A very loose twist on the Italian classic, that is! No reduced buttery sauce or flour, but chicken, marsala wine, and mushrooms (plus a bunch of other fun things!). This is also going to be another “throwback Wednesday” recipe. This gem was created for Christmas Eve dinner 2014! The photos may lose their charm, but the flavor and recipe is still spot on and deserves to be shared! I know we all appreciate the slow cooker right now anyway!

Going off of the Italian food upbringing, I’ve always been fond of Chicken Marsala as well as Chicken Francese. My mom and I could never remember which one was which when ordering. Which was the creamy mushroom and which was the breaded lemon one? Now I’ve got it down, but still love them both! I think I’ve always loved them equally, which is surprising since I hated mushrooms growing up. My younger self would scoff at the mushroom lover I am now (side not: I’m not currently eating mushrooms. Their high FODMAP count, I think, bothers me).

This dish is classically made with a buttery reduced marsala wine sauce with mushrooms, poured over some lightly breaded chicken. Not exactly the most gluten-free (or dairy-free) friendly dish. That’s not problem for this gal though! Solutions were had! And it’s so super simple since it’s made in the slow cooker. To amp this slow cooker chicken marsala up I added pearl onions, artichoke hearts (the flavor!), beets (added color!), and of course the mushrooms! So you’re getting your dose of protein and veggies in one entree. It would be a lovely dish served over some pasta, tomato basil cauli-rice, sorghum, or millet! Okay, okay, even if you’re feeling like some yucca, fries would work too!

Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala

Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala

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Author: Rebecca Pytell

Recipe type: Main Dish, Slow Cooker, Chicken

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 Large Skinless Chicken Breasts
10 Pearl Onions (halved)
9 oz (1⅕ Cups) Chopped Artichoke Hearts (I used frozen)
2 Medium Beets (chopped)
1½ Cups Chopped Baby Portobello Mushrooms
2 TB Chopped Fresh Parsley
1 TB Chopped Fresh Basil
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
¼ Tsp White Pepper
1½ Cups Marsala Wine

Instructions

Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker first, then add the veggies, spices, and wine.
Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, until the chicken is fully cooked through.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1

Done! Quick and easy! The chopped veggies give this chicken so much extra flavor, let alone the wine! I also loved that the beets added to the slight red color of the liquid as well. Totally not traditional, I know, but just as good 😉 I guess I do need to recreate the “real” thing as well as chicken francese soon! Alright, that’s my new mission! (Prepare to see those in 2019, bahahaha!)

So tell me:

+ Which is better to you: chicken marsala or chicken francese? (Don’t make my Italian roots cry and say that you haven’t had either!)

+ Mushroom lover or hater? O I love them, but my tummy…not so much :/

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Artichoke Spinach Chicken Burgers & Fennel Beet Parsnip Puree

June 4, 2014 by Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine 77 Comments

Grilling really has become me new favorite cooking method. It just makes food that much better and that much more summery. We have a big gas grill, nothing to fancy, but it gets the job done. I do however want to buy a cheap charcoal grill before grilling season is over. Charcoal is basically the flavor king of grilling. We used to have a small one way back when, but not anymore. So that is my mission the next time I go out to the store, find me an affordable charcoal grill (plus a bag of charcoal!).

The only annoying this about grilling, well I guess not too annoying, is that I have to use foil over the grills. I don’t trust the cross-contamination safety and I just don’t want my chicken or veggies touching the same grills a piece or beef did. (Food snob?). So I rip a large piece of foil, wipe it with come oil, and then place what ever I am cooking down on that. At least it provides easy removal since I can just lift the foil off and I don’t have to worry about brushing the grills to clean it!

Anyway, I have a pretty snazzy recipe for you today. I wanted to use ground chicken again as well as re-make that lovely fennel parsnip puree I had at City Range a while back. So I went all out with the grilling, and some blending! This was my Memorial Day dinner and we did absolutely nothing that day, so I knew I had to make it special somehow. Some time spent in the kitchen always does the trick. I whipped up some grilled artichoke spinach chicken burgers and my own fennel parsnip puree with added beets for a pretty red color! Roasting, grilling, blending, it was a “hectic” but fun time. Not to mention it produced some rather delicious results 😉

Artichoke Spinach Chicken Burgers & Fennel Beet Parsnip Puree

Ingredients: (serves 4)

For the Burgers:

+ 1 lb Ground Chicken

+ 1/2 TB Lemon Juice + Zest from Whole Lemon

+ 1 Tsp Dried Tarragon

+ 1 Tsp Dried Basil

+ 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder

+ 1/2 Tsp Onion Powder

+ 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper

+ 5 Artichoke Hearts (1/2 Cup)

+ 1 1/2 Cup Spinach

+ 1 Tsp Dijon Mustard

For the Puree:

+ 2 Large Beets

+ 6 Medium Parsnips

+ 1 Large Fennel Bulb

Plating Extras:

+ A Few Leaves of Fresh Basil

+ Lemon Slices (to grill)

+ Eggplant Slices (to grill)

Directions:

For the Burgers:

+ In a food processor or blender, add your spinach and artichokes. Blend until you get an almost smooth consistency, but not a total puree. You want some spinach pieces in there to stand out.

+ In a large bowl, combine the chicken along with the spinach artichoke purees, lemon juice, zest, Dijon, and all the spices. Use your hands to mix everything together very thoroughly.

+ Form 4 burger patties with you hands. Place them on an oiled piece of foil (or not) and grill for 20 minutes (10 minutes on each side). If you don’t want to grill (I have no idea why) you can also cook these in the oven at 350°F for 35-40 minutes.

For the Puree:

+ Preheat oven to 425°F. Roughly chop your beets, parsnips (I didn’t peel either), and fennel bulb in to large pieces for even roasting.

+ Roast for 30 minutes, remove from oven, and let cool for a few minutes. Then add everything to a food processor or large blender. Add 2 cups of water the blender slowly. You may need less, you may need more. Blend until you get a silky smooth puree.

Additional:

+ Slice a lemon and eggplant into rounds. Season the eggplant with some garlic and onion powder and some black pepper. Grill all for about 4-5 minutes, flipping halfway through, or using a George Foreman.

+ Plate some of the puree in a smooth flat mound, add 1 burger, 3 eggplant rounds, 2 lemon slices, and a few fresh basil leaves. Enjoy!

I was obsessed with this dish! So good! When my friend and I were chatting later that Memorial Day, I told him what I made for my own personal BBQ. Lets just say he was very jealous as he told me about his lowly grilled chicken breast 😛 I like to make things fancy…what can I say 😉

So tell me:

+ What did you make on Memorial Day?

+ Have you ever recreated a favorite restaurant dish?

*Recipe linking up for the week! WIAW, Allergy Free Wednesdays, #RecipeFridays, #RecipeOfTheWeek, #StrangeButGood, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Real Food Friday, Gluten-Free Fridays, Tasty Tuesdays, Savoring Saturdays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, #Foodie Friday, Real Food Recipe Roundup!*

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Cheezy Roasted Vegetable Quinoa

March 19, 2014 by Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine 64 Comments

Did you eat Macaroni and Cheese as a kid? Well that is a silly questions, of course you did! Who didn’t? And I am sure you still enjoy it on occasion, right? It pretty much is the quintessential kid food, am I right? Quick and easy to throw on the table on a busy day. Unless you had one of those food loving moms or grandmas that would make homemade mac and cheese baked in the oven with mass amounts of gooey cheese, breadcrumbs, the works. All bubbly and browned to perfection. Well I know I didn’t, but I was just fine with my fake powdered cheese packets dumped in to the pot after my cardboard box pasta was cooked 😉 A little splash of milk and it was ready to eat. And we can’t forget to mention the innovative shapes and colored mac and cheeses used as a ploy by marketing to get a mother’s child to jump up and down in the grocery until they bought their Spongebob shaped mac and cheese. I know, the good old days, right? I was also one of those kids that enjoyed some ketchup on my macaroni and cheese as well. Haha, that is nutrition right there!

Well don’t worry, now that we know the scary things that are used to manufacture those wonderful boxes of chemical, man-made, “cheese” and noodles, we can remedy the situation. You can have you mac and cheese and eat it too! Most importantly you can have your non-gmo, clean, real-food, gluten-free, soy-free, vegan mac and cheese and eat it too! Haha, I know I am excited too! However, let’s make things more interesting and not use a traditional pasta or just plain old vegan cheese. No. Let’s make this a fancy grown-up side dish delicacy packed with wholesome ingredients and nutrition.

Full of warm roasted veggies, including eggplant, artichokes, portobello mushrooms, and pearl onions. With our superfood base ingredient of quinoa. That little powerful seed of gluten-free protein happiness. All mixed together with the wonderful nutty cheezy taste from my favorite, nutritional yeast!

Cheezy Roasted Vegetable Quinoa

Ingredients: (serves 4-6)

For the Roasted Vegetables:

+ 9oz of (Thawed) Frozen Sliced Artichoke Hearts

+ 2 Cups of Sliced Eggplant

+ 2 Medium Portobello Mushroom Caps (sliced)

+ 6 Pearl Onions (peeled and roughly chopped)

+ 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper

+ 1/4 Tsp Garlic Powder

For the Quinoa:

+ 1 Cup Dry Quinoa (+2 Cups Water for Cooking)

+ 1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast

+ 1 Tsp Turmeric

+ 1/2 Tsp Smoked Paprika

+ 1 Tsp Dijon Mustard

+ 1 Tsp Chopped Chives

+ 1 TB Dried Parsley

Directions:

+ For the roasted vegetables, preheat the oven to 415°F. Prep all the veggies and spread them out on a foiled and lightly oiled baking sheet. Toss the veggies with the pepper and garlic and roast for 20 minutes, stirring half-way through.

+ For the quinoa, rinse off your quinoa under cold water, bring a large pot of 2 cups of water to a boil, add the quinoa and cook for about 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed.

+ When the quinoa is done, add in the roasted veggies, nutritional yeast, turmeric, parsley, smoked paprika, Dijon, and chives. Give everything a good stir until everything is coated and incorporated.

Grown-up “mac and cheese”? I think yes!

This was so delicious and also perfect the next day reheated! Great for a quick lunch option or a side dish to dinner. Or It could be a dinner within itself 😉 You may not be able to stop eating it. I had this three days straight it was so good!

The only thing I did not do was add ketchup! Hm….I may have to test that out 😉 Then we will really be talkin’!

So tell me:

Were you a macaroni and cheese lover as a kid?

Ketchup? Yay or Nay?

*Recipe linking up for the week! WIAW, Allergy Free Wednesdays, #RecipeFridays, #RecipeOfTheWeek, Ricki Heller’s Wellness Weekend, #StrangeButGood, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, Real Food Friday, Gluten-Free Fridays, Tasty Tuesdays, Whole Food Fridays!*

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Recipe ReDux #3 Roasted Winter Veggie Tortilla Pizza

January 22, 2014 by Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine 42 Comments

It’s Recipe Redux Day! We are splitting up the posting this month because we just have so many members contributing now. Yesterday was the first half of the bloggers and I was assigned the second day…today…to post mine! I had a lot of trial and error with this theme. I was really excited but then got pretty upset when what I wanted to do totally failed. But hey, it all makes us better cooks in the long run. Actually the weekend I tried out my first idea was the weekend from hell I told you about on Monday. So that is probably why it didn’t go in my favor, haha!

January’s theme: Pizza Party! Give the delivery guy a day off; whether it is for Friday Fun Night with the kids, a pizza chef competition among friends, or for Super Bowl Sunday (February 2). Share your healthy pizza recipe that we can all look forward to after a long week…or a long day.

Yay, pizza. I have loved making personal pizza ever since this beauty was born. And I am pretty sure vegan and gluten-free homemade pizza creations are the best. I don;t miss real pizza and I never will. This pizza I have for you today is really simple and light. The perfect “appetizer” to a Super Bowl party. But it is also elegant and and perfect for a light healthy lunch. I actually bulked mine up when I had it for dinner one night by adding pinto beans, so feel free to add your favorite protein source to make this light pizza a dinner main!

Roasted Winter Veggie Tortilla Pizza

Ingredients: (serves 1)

+ 1 Medium Carrot (peeled and chopped in to discs)

+ 1/3 Cup Chopped Artichoke Hearts

+ 3 TB Chopped Raw Beets

+ Onion Power, Garlic Powder, White Pepper, Oregano (all to taste for the veggies)

+ 1 Large Brown Rice Tortilla

+ 1/4 Cup Salt-Free Tomato Paste

+ Dried Basil, Oregano, Onion Powder, White Pepper (all to taste for the sauce)

+ 1/2 TB Nutritional Yeast

+ Optional: Beans, Sprouted Lentils, Sliced Chicken (to make this a meal!)

Directions:

+ Preheat the oven to 425°F.

+ On a foiled and oiled baking sheet, place down your prepared veggies and then sprinkle on the seasoning and toss with your hands. Spread it all out and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

+ While the veggies roast mix your tomato paste and spices together and get that all ready for assembly. Once the veggies are done, prepare another baking sheet and assemble your pizza. First the tortilla, then the sauce, nutritional yeast, then the veggies and optional protein

+ Bake the pizza for 12-14 minutes. Remove when the edges are brown and crispy!

So my first failed attempt was that I was going to make my own crust. It was going to be a wonderful chickpea flour crust made like a pancake. Well It did not work out and ended up getting complete stuck on the pan. I cried. Maybe next time I will have to try it again, but when my weekend is actually going good, haha!

I actually really like the lighting in these shots! It was a dark and stormy day (of course) and 5 o’clock so there was absolutely no good natural light in the one little tiny spot I can take shots in. I thought the pictures would be horrible when I looked at them on the computer, but the low lighting adds to the rustic wintery theme of this pizza, haha! Good thing, because otherwise I am pretty sure that weekend would have been the death of me!

Well, happy ReDux! Make sure you check out all the other fabulous member recipes in the link-up below!

So tell me:

Do you like thin crust, thick crust, normal, or Sicilian, or deep dish pizza the best? I always loved Sicilian when I was a kid!

Tell me a recent recipe fail. I know I am not the only one!

*Recipe linking up for the week! WIAW, Allergy Free Wednesdays, #RecipeFridays, and Ricki’s Wellness Weekend!*

Artichoke and Shiitake Mushroom Split Pea Soup

December 4, 2013 by Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine 31 Comments

When I won a contest with iHerb back in October, it was for products from a company called Great Eastern Sun. There weren’t many options for things to get that I could actually use, but I did end up with some great Organic Nori Sheets, minced garlic, English Breakfast Tea, and two bags of Dried Shiitake Mushrooms. I have always wanted to try dried mushrooms in a recipe and after seeing Sarah use them in a blended soup, I knew soup would be the way to go. However I didn’t want a blended soup, I wanted just a light veggie soup. I also had a bag of Dried Green Split Peas that had been begging to be cooked. Thus, soup it was!

Normally when you hear Split Peas you think of a blended soup as well. but I don’t have the appliances to do any mass blending. Plus, blended soups never really soup appealing to me. But the more I root veggie and squash soups on Pinterest and in the blog world, they have looked more and more delicious. (Hopefully if I get that blender I want for Christmas, I might try my hand at one…). Anyway, this soup is just a light “Asian” inspired veggie and split pea soup. It is super healthy and has a lovely flavor I attribute to the Artichokes and Shiitakes. The Shiitakes scared me at first when I was chopping them up since I had no idea how they would actually taste and come out once they were re-hydrated again. They also had this unique smell. It wasn’t bad, it was interesting…I kind of liked it 😉 But best of all, the soup came out perfect! This is a great first time dried-mushroom-user recipe. So give it a try and let me know your thoughts!Read More