Chicken Francese is one of those dishes you always see at weddings and catered events. Unfortunately, it's sometimes hit or miss. Too much lemon, not enough lemon, I'm like goldilocks, it's not always quite right. Not to mention the butter in the sauce - so many calories!


Well, a lighter Chicken Francese isn't hard to create: substitute egg whites for whole eggs, using a little flour instead of butter to thicken the sauce, and as always, using fresh ingredients. And guess what? It tastes delicious - you can't even tell the difference. Well, that's not entirely true, you can feel the difference. Eating good makes you feel good!


And as per my truffle oil obsession that began last week, those garlic mashed potatoes you might notice in the background of these pictures is indeed drizzled with truffle oil. In case you're wondering, they were amazing (as if there was a doubt).

Light Chicken Francese

Yield: 4 servings | Prep time: 5 minutes | Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 3 Tbsp. flour (for dredging)

• 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper

• 3 Tbsp egg whites (about 3 egg whites)

• 1/2 lemon, cut into 4 thin rounds

• 1/2 lemon, juiced (about 3 Tbsp.)

• 1/2 cup white wine

• 1 cup chicken broth

• 1 Tbsp. flour

• 1 Tbsp. butter

• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Last weekend, I had a surprise party for my mum's birthday. I decided to make a bunch of different "bite-size" desserts - this is one of those desserts. I planned something that was gluten-free in case anyone had any food allergies. I've never baked anything that was gluten-free before, so I was a little nervous. But these cupcakes turned out SO well, my fear of baking gluten-free is gone (adapted from this great recipe).

I didn't have coconut flour or white rice flour lying around my house, but I found them in my local grocery store in the baking aisle. I know it seems crazy to buy a bag of flour when you only need 1/3 cup, but these cupcakes were so good and so moist, I'll definitely use the rest of the flour!

 

Gluten-Free Lemon Cupcakes with Lavender Frosting

Gluten-Free Lemon Cupcakes
(Yields 3-4 dozen mini cupcakes OR ~1 dozen standard cupcakes)

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/3 cup white rice flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup milk (I used vanilla almond milk, but regular milk is okay too)
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/3 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. orange zest (1 large orange)
• 2 Tbsp. lemon zest (1-2 lemons)
• 4 eggs + 1 egg white

Lavender Frosting

Ingredients:

• 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup milk (again, I used vanilla almond milk, but regular milk is okay too)
• 1 Tbsp. lavender buds
• 1 1/2+ cups powdered sugar (enough to get the consistency you want)
• 1-2 drops red and blue food coloring - optional

This week's "box" contained:

• 1 zucchini
• 2 summer squash
• 4 bell peppers (yellow and red)
• 4 tomatoes
• Bunch of purple-orange carrots (so beautiful!)
• Bunch of purple green beans
• 1 canelope melon
• 2 onions
• 2 eggplants (long, thin eggplants)
• Bunch of mustard greens

Week 11 brought something new: mustard greens! Mustard greens are the leaves of the mustard plant (the mustard plant produces the brown seeds used to make Dijon mustard). Most mustard greens are dark, emerald green in color (like mine), while others can be dark red or purple in color.

I decided to braise the mustard greens with bacon (adapted from this recipe) and use the sage growing in my garden to make lemon-sage chicken (adapted from this recipe).

Braised Mustard Greens

(Yields 2 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 bunch mustard greens, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1 Tbsp. vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place chopped bacon into a hot pan. Cook over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, or until bacon is browned
2. Add chopped mustard greens and vinegar; cook for 1 minute
3. Add sugar, salt, pepper and chicken broth. Cover pan, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes (while the greens are simmering, cook your chicken!)

Here is a picture of the finished mustard greens:

Lemon-Sage Chicken

(Yields 2 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 1 egg
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 sprigs of sage (pick leaves from stem)
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter 

Directions:

1. Place chicken breasts between plastic wrap and pound each chicken breast until they're about 1/4 inch thick
2. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper
3. Place flour on a plate. Beat egg and lemon juice together in a bowl
4. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add olive oil (enough to coat pan)
5. Dredge each chicken breast in flour (tap off excess), then dip it in the egg. Make sure you are coating both sides of the chicken breast
6. Place chicken in hot pan. Cook for 2 minutes. Add sage leaves and flip chicken. Cook for another 2 minutes
7. Remove chicken and sage from pan. If you have oil sitting at the bottom of your pan, pour it out
8. Pour wine and chicken broth into pan. Cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add butter and swirl until melted
9. Pour sauce oven chicken breasts and serve

Here is a picture of the completed meal:


Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Okay, I'm a big behind! Here are the goods I received in my week 7 "box":

• Pint of blueberries
• Pint of cherry tomatoes
• 3 large tomatoes
• 4 greenpeppers
• Bunch of kale
• Head of cabbage
• 1 medium eggplant
• 2 cucumbers
• About 1 pound small potatoes

For dinner that night, I made use of the fresh herbs growing in my garden and made Garlic Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary and Herbed Quinoa adapted from the following recipes, consecutively [one and two].

 

Garlic Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary

(Yields 2 servings)

Ingredients:

• Two chicken breasts
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves, stripped from stems
• 1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
• 2 tsp. oregano
• 1/4 cup white wine
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 450°F
2.  In a 9x9 baking dish, toss chicken with olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, rosemary, oregano, salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer in the baking dish.
3. Place chicken into the oven and cook for 20 minutes*
4. Add wine and lemon juice to pan. Turn off oven and return pan to oven for 5 minutes.

*My chicken wasn't very thick, so 20 minutes was plenty. Check your chicken and confirm it is cooked before proceeding to step 4. If your chicken isn't cooked, continue cooking it in the 450°F oven!

Here is what my chicken looked like before I placed it into the oven:

Herbed Quinoa

(Yields 2-3 servings)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water 
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (less than 1/2 lemon)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 tsp. lemon zest (less than 1/2 lemon)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer (Why?)
2. In a small pot, bring water to boil. Add quinoa, cover the pot, and reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes
3. Keeping quinoa covered, remove pot from heat and let stand for 5 minutes
4. Remove the lid and gently fluff quinoa with a fork, set aside 
5. In a small bowl, add lemon juice, olive oil, basil, parsley, thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Whisk vigorously until mixture is emulsified
6. Pour dressing over warm quinoa

  
Here's how it turned out:


And here is the meal in its entirety (accompanied by a fresh tomato, cucumber and green pepper salad):



Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Sunday was a busy day and I made a few different vegetables. For lunch, I made kale chips. Kale is a dark-green, leafy vegetable. Kale is also a super-food that everyone should incorporate into their diets. Kale is high in fiber, iron, calcium, Vitamins A, C and K and has many other benefits!

There are a few different types of kale, but the one you'll most often find in the grocery store is curly leaved kale (which is what I received from my CSA). Kale is very versatile; it can be eaten raw, sauteed, cooked in soups, added to smoothies, etc. but kale chips are one of my favorite ways to eat kale. Kale chips are very quick and easy to make, as well as crispy and delicious!

Crispy Kale Chips

(Yields 2 servings)


Ingredients

• Bunch of kale
• Olive oil
• Garlic powder (or whichever seasonings you like!)
• Salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Thoroughly wash and dry kale
3. Tear kale leaves away from stem and into roughly one inch pieces
4. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil. Place kale pieces onto cookie sheet.
5. Spray kale with olive oil (I have an oil mister - if you do not have one, just lightly drizzle olive oil on the kale pieces)
6. Sprinkle with garlic powder and salt
7. Place into oven for 8-10 minutes or until kale it light and crispy

Here's a picture of my kale before it was baked.



And dinner last night, I sauteed Swiss chard with lemon and parmesan. Swiss chard is a tall, leafy, green vegetable that is slightly bitter. The stalk of Swiss chard is crunchy and thick, and can be red, yellow or white (can be referred to as 'rainbow chard'). The leaves of Swiss chard are wide, green and softer.

Through reading about Swiss chard, I found out it is not native to Switzerland. Contrary to its namesake, Swiss chard is native to the Mediterranean region. Swiss chard has numerous health benefits as well and I personally think it is simple beautiful. Here's a picture of my Swiss chard before cooking.

Sauteed Swiss Chard with Lemon and Parmesan

• 1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (I used the juice from half of one lemon)
• 2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, roughly chopped
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

1. Thoroughly wash and dry Swiss chard
2. Chop Swiss chard, separating stalks from leaves
3. Heat pan over medium heat. Once hot, add small amount of olive oil (enough to coat pan)
4. Add garlic and shallots - cook about 1 minute
5. Add chard stalks and white wine and cook until stalks soften - about 5 minutes
6. Stir in chard leaves and cook until wilted - about 1 minute
7. Stir in lemon juice, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper