Panera Knock-Off: Nik's "Something Chicken Stew"

"This looks fancy..."

That was my youngest daughter's reaction when she looked at the contents of the slightly modified bowl I presented her this past weekend. (I'll tell you why the modification in a sec.)

Now to her, "fancy" is a good adjective. With the elder girl, not so much. I was quite pleased how this recipe turned out, mostly because it was just so darn easy!

Backstory (because you know there always is one!). A few months back I went to Panera Bread and had their Spanish Chicken Stew. Oh. My. WORD! (As Pam would say.) That stuff is delicious! It's a combination of chicken, herbs, spices, vegetable, broth and there is some brown rice on the bottom. What made it unique and delightful for me was the sprinkling of sliced almonds on top. It did feel fancy!

Fast forward to this past weekend, when I wasn't feeling that great and didn't feel like standing over a stove to cook. I hadn't tried out my new Ninja Kitchen cooking system (it's like a crockpot plus four other things I've not figured out yet), and I had some almonds left over from another recipe I'd captured earlier in the week, so I decided to experiment. 

Now if you've been following the blog for a while you know I am not a big fan of looking at other people's recipes before creating my own. I mean...where's the fun in that? Rather I like throwing stuff together and seeing how it comes out. Risky? Yes. But good!

I call this "Something Chicken Stew" because I'm not sure it's particularly Spanish, per se. It's something. And that something would be good. And easy. And good!

Nik's "Something Chicken Stew" (Panera Knock-Off)

Ingredients:

• 2 large pre-marinated chicken breasts (I get them in my local meat or frozen section. These are breasts that have already been marinated for you - big time saver! I got Garlic & Herb.)
• 6 c. of any assortment of veggies you like, chopped. I used:
• Tomatoes
• Asparagus
• Red Peppers
• Zucchini
• Onions
• 1 tsp. additional chopped garlic
• 1 tsp. Mediterranean seasoning (I used Lawry's Mediterranean seasoning salt)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 4 c. water
• 1-2 tbsp. tomato paste (depending on how thick you want your broth)
• 2 c. cooked quinoa or 1 box of couscous (I used the latter in Parmesan flavor. If you've never cooked quinoa before, here's my super-easy tutorial!)
• Sliced almonds, to finish

Directions:

Put everything exept tomato paste in the crockpot and set it on low for about 4 hours. Then go do something fun (yes, this is a legit part of the recipe).

By the time you come back your chicken should be cooked through. With a pair of tongs, move it to a cutting board and dice it into pieces of your desired size. Put the chicken back into the crockpot. 

Taste the broth and adjust the seasonings as you see fit (I added a dash of oregano at this point but otherwise the seasoning was spot on). Stir the tomato paste into the hot liquid until incorporated. Let that go about another 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook your quinoa or couscous. Now at this point I'll say a word on this. It's up to you what grain you use in this recipe, if at all. Here are a few options, if couscous is not your thing.

• You can use quinoa (here's my super easy tutorial on how to make it...again)
• You can use brown rice, if that's your thing
• You can use cauliflower rice if you want to avoid starches altogether

My point here is you have choices. Play with your food!

To serve: place a small amount of couscous/quinoa/rice/whatever in a bowl. Ladle some stew on top of it (for your portion, you get to choose how much broth, as I know some folks worry about taking in liquids and solids together). Top with sliced almonds and enjoy!

After these pictures were taken I got the inspiration to add sliced olives, which just made this all the more delicious. Now I modified this for my younger daughter because she eats a pescetarian diet (she eats seafood but no other type of animal protein), so I made another little pot of this stew with just the veggies and broth. Still wonderful and yummy!

Here are the outtake pictures of this dish. 

Don't ask me why, when given a choice, I always go with the direct overhead shot. I just always seem to like it better. But this is a good one too!

I just didn't feel like this captured the full essence of this dish. Not a bad picture though. Please note I have two places I can take pictures with sufficient light: on top of my microwave oven (which is where the photo directly above this one was taken) and on a bench on my front porch (and yes, my neighbors do think I'm crazy, thanks for asking). 

#PWMF2014 Recipe Contest Lunch Winner: Margaret's Avocado Egg Salad

(Dear Margaret: This is by far one of the BEST food pictures I've ever been sent!)

The lunch judge – Pam T. – is not easy to please.

We’ve been friends forever and two more days. You all know her without knowing her, especially if you’ve ever bought a Bariatric Foodiebook – she designed all the covers!

And as hard as she works on her design stuff and as meticulous as she is with it, she is a self-professed “lazy cook.” I can’t get her to try any of my recipes that involve more than a few ingredients or a few steps. When she does try my recipes, she always plays with it to reduce the amount of ingredients and steps! 

So I was especially curious to see which lunch recipe she chose as the winner. Pam would like you to know it was not an easy decision. Each judge had to prepare the recipe(s) they were considering for the win. I believe Pam tried three.

But in the end, here is the winner!

Margaret’s Avocado Egg Salad

• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 1 large avocado
• 1 tbsp dill pickle relish
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp onion powder or 2 tbsp minced onion
• Paprika (optional)

Directions:

Slice hard boiled eggs and remove the yolk.

Mix the yolk with relish, mayo, salt, pepper and onion (just as if you were making deviled eggs).

Chop the egg white, cut the avocado into bite size piece and add to the eggs.

Pour the mayonnaise mixture over top, gently mix to coat everything.

Spoon on a lettuce leaf and sprinkle with paprika. Serve.

Here's what Pam had to say about what makes this a winning recipe:

"It's egg salad, with a twist! I love that this is as easy to make as normal egg salad, but the addition of avocado takes this egg salad to the next level. I also loved that this is a low-carb option by using lettuce leaves as the vehicle for the salad rather than bread."

So there you have it. Simple. Nutritious. Good! Here's Pam's photo of Margaret's recipe:



 

Ten-Minute Meal: Nik & Steak & Cheese Zoodles

This "as it happened" lunch is brought to you by...Nik! :) Seriously though...submitting a recipe for the contest is as easy as snapping a pic of one of your meals!

 



Hey friends! Are you getting together your entries for the 2^ndannual Bariatric Foodie “Play With MY Food” recipe contest? (If not you should be. For simply sharing the recipe and a pic of one of your meals you could win a $50 Amazon gift card!)

If you need some inspiration, here’s a really quick and easy dish I made myself THIS very morning for lunch that is the perfect kind of recipe (and an example of what I mean by a decent food picture – this was taken with my phone).

Nik’s Steak & Cheese Zoodles

Ingredients:

• 3-ish oz. leftover cooked steak or roast beef (NOTE: You don’t HAVE to use beef. If you’ve got leftover chicken make it chicken and cheese…seafood, make it seafood and cheese. You get where I’m going with this right?)
• 1 oz. onion slivers
• Zoodles (zucchini noodles I made using my spiral vegetable cutter)
• Whatever random quick-cooking veggies you wanna throw in there (I had spinach so I used that)
• Salt, pepper, garlic (or garlic powder)
• 1 wedge Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb cheese
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Spray a skillet with non-stick set it over medium heat and let it get hot. Throw the steak and onions on there and get them cooking.

Meanwhile you can be cutting your zoodles. (It’s a quick, easy and, dare I say, fun process!)

Add zoodles to the pan and toss it around with the steak and onions. Let those go about a minute before adding the other veggies you intend to use. Add spices.

Once everything is tender (it only takes 3-ish minutes) throw in the Laughing Cow Light wedge (NOTE: you may want to dice it up. They don’t exactly “melt” easily). Toss throughout (I use tongs) allowing the temperature of the food to soften the cheese.

When ready to eat, top with Parmesan cheese and enjoy! These tasted like a steak & cheese sub - without the bread! And it literally took me 10 minutes to make.

So if you were hesitating to enter the contest because you thought you needed a "fancy" dish - don't! In fact most of the judges WANT simple and good recipes. So get yours together and submit by September 30 for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card! Plus you'll be helping to fill the contest e-book that will be available to everyone for FREE download.

Keep playing with your food!

Alfredo Chicken Roulade

So I may have mentioned once that when I get on a kick, I sorta just ride it out until I get sick of whatever I was obsessed with.

Or maybe I didn't.

At any rate, the Chicken Roulade I made while in Michigan with Pam inspired this version - Alfredo!

Enjoy. (Wow...I feel compelled to write four more paragraphs but oddly I'm going to stop there!)

Nik's Alfredo Chicken Roulade

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1/2 an onion, cut into sliver
• 2 c. baby spinach
• 6 thin-cut chicken breasts
• 6 wedges Laughing Cow cheese (I used Garlic-Herb)
• Salt, pepper and any other spices you like
• 1 jar light Alfredo Sauce (I used Classico)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Set a skillet over medium heat and allow it to get HOT (this will take about 5-ish minutes...go get the other stuff to make this while you are waiting).

Add the oil and swirl it around the pan before adding bell peppers. Saute about 2-3 minutes before adding onions. Saute that an additional minute or two before finally adding the spinach. Saute all veggies until spinach is wilted to your liking.

On a cutting baord, lay out your chicken breasts (TIP: If you can't find thin-cut chicken breasts at your grocery store, usually the butcher will cut some for you, just ask! Also if chicken breast is too big for you, you can pound out some chicken breast tenderloins). Add salt and pepper to both sides. Then on the side facing up, spread your Laughing Cow Cheese all across it. 

Plop some veggies on top of that and then roll up the chicken breast. Transfer it to a baking dish and add Alfredo sauce to the top!

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is done through. 

I served mine with some sweet peas, but this works well with any veggie you like. Yummy! Let's eat!

Julia's Thai Shrimp Skillet

Before we get to this yumminess, THANK YOU to everyone who pledged a goal for week one of the Bariatric Foodie Pledge! You can find the official week one pledge list (in alphabetical order) here. Remember that you must check-in on your goal at the end of the week to be eligible for this week’s prize, sponsored by Chike Nutrition. Week one check-ins open at 12 p.m. EST Saturday, February 8 and end 12 p.m. EST, Sunday February 9 (which is also when week two pledging begins).

If you’re going, “What the heck is a Bariatric Foodie Pledge?” click here.

Now…onto the yumminess. Chike Nutrition is, first and foremost, a maker of yummy protein powders. I’ve tried many and liked them (look out tomorrow for a comprehensive list of my favorites).

Recently, they came out with a new product: Chike PB. It’s peanut flour. What’s that? Well when a peanut is pressed for oil it leaves behind a powder, which contains most of the protein of the peanut and just a little bit of the fat. That’s peanut powder (also called peanut flour). It has about 85% less calories than peanut butter. Amazingly, Chike’s offering preserves 85% of the protein of a serving of peanut butter. Here’s how that shakes out.

Regular peanut butter (2 tbsp): 200 calories, 17g fat, 7g protein

Chike PB (2 tbsp): 45 calories, 1.5g fat, 6g protein

And when you mix it into things like protein shakes, protein oatmeal and desserts, it tastes like peanut butter! Sweet, right?

Anyhoo, I gave a Chike PB sample to a few fellow Foodies and asked them to think of interesting and new ways to use it. This comes by way of Julia, one of the finalists for the grand prize from last year’s Pledge, might I add!   

Julia’s Thai Shrimp Skillet

Ingredients:

Shrimp (or protein of choice)

• 1 lb. shrimp, cooked (25 ct. size or so) OR a pound of your favorite protein, cut into pieces and cooked
• Juice from one lime
• Zest from one lime
• 2 tbsp. fish sauce (if there’s an Asian section in your grocery store, check there. If not, you can omit)
• 2 tbsp. peanut oil
• 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed 

Peanut Sauce

• 6 oz. coconut milk
• 5 tbsp. Chike PB powder
• 1 tbsp lime Ponzu (again, check the international food aisle OR you can use soy sauce mixed with a squirt of lime juice)
• 1 tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 tbsp. Thai garlic chili sauce (this also tends to be in the international food aisle although it may be with other marinades – if you like spicy food, use the same amount of sriracha)
• 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
• 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed 

The Veggies

• ½ a sweet red pepper, cut in strips
• ½ an orange sweet pepper, cut in strips
• 1 medium onion, cut in strips
• ½ a sweet potato, diced
• 1/3 of an eggplant, diced
• ½ - ¾ c. grape tomatoes, halved

Topping: fresh cilantro & roasted peanuts.

Directions:

Combine the marinade ingredients in a zip-top storage bag and add your protein. Marinate at least 30 minutes.

Place a skillet over medium-high heat and allow it to get hot, add peanut oil and sweet potato (add potato immediately as peanut oil begins to smoke very quickly). Stir about 3-4 minutes or until it starts to become tender then add the remaining vegetables and stir, sauteeing until the vegetables are as soft as you want them to be.

While your veggies are cooking, combine peanut sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk (Julia used her Magic Bullet Blender). Make sure all peanut powder is incorporated and you don’t see any dry powder!

Drain your protein from the marinade liquid and add to the pan, along with the peanut sauce and stir until warmed through.

Serve warm with cilantro and peanut garnish!

"Why are you telling me all this, Nik? You're giving away the protein, not the PB!"

Good question! All will be revealed...TOMORROW! Bwahahahaha! (I've been dying to do an evil laugh. Indulge me, ok?)

Seriously. Check back to the blog tomorrow and you'll find out WHY I'm telling you about Chike PB. Because there's always a method to my madness.

Nik's Bacon-Ranch Chicken Salad

Baltimore is currently having a "heat wave" so I decided to take my lunch outside and enjoy it!

So I know it’s been a minute since my last recipe post. Forgive me! Even Bariatric Foodies get burned out from time to time. And I can already tell March is going to be a rough month for me from this point forward, so I thank you for understanding as I exhibited a bit of self-care!

But…eventually you gotta get back to business. Plus, it’s springtime!

Which to me means warmer weather, pretty flowers, cute dresses…and cold salads! As the weather gets warmer, I’m all about mixing it up with chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad. That’s what inspired today’s offering.

I made this big, BEAUTIFUL rainbow veggie salad with baby spinach, red and yellow peppers, tomatoes, cukes and carrots but I needed some protein to top it off. But I didn't want the same old, same old. Here’s what I did.

Nik’s Bacon-Ranch Chicken Salad

(Makes about 2-4 servings, depending on your pouch capacity)

• 2 heaping tablespoons unflavored fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp. your favorite ranch dressing (I used Aldi’s Fit & Active reduced fat)
• 1 heaping tsp (not tablespoon!) mayo (I used low-fat)
• 1/8 tsp each of onion powder, garlic salt and black pepper
• A few dashes of your favorite hot sauce
• 8 oz. canned chicken breast meat
• 1 heaping tbsp. bacon bits

Directions:

In a bowl mix together yogurt, dressing, mayo, spices and hot sauce. Give it a taste. I add the onion powder and garlic salt because I find that one tablespoon of ranch dressing gives a HINT of ranch but it doesn’t come through too strongly. So I beef it up with these spices. I suppose you could also try just adding a bit more Greek yogurt with some dry ranch mix but I used what I had on hand! Adjust spices to taste.

Add chicken meat and mix in thoroughly. Add bacon bits and do the same.

Refrigerate until ready to eat!

This is sooooooo good. I am eating one portion atop my salad. Tomorrow I’ll bring in a lightly salted rice cake to have it on top of that. This would probably also be good inside my Angelic Eggs.

And I’m sure you all have even more ideas. Share them!

WLS-friendly Lunchables (the sequel!)

You all might remember my first, more traditional, WLS-friendly Lunchable.

I’ve been having lots of fun creating different iterations of this idea.

Today’s offering: tuna salad with halved cherry tomatoes, onions, TONS of garlic salt, salt, pepper and a little canola mayo. Alongside it are my “cuke-ers” (cucumber crackers) and I have a nectarine for a sweet finish!

What would you put in YOUR WLS-friendly Lunchable?

TVP Tuna

I figure until I get it together recipe-wise (and believe me I have a bunch of freshly tested stuff to share...I just have to make it and photo it!), I'll continue to give you a glace at my real-eating perspective.

So here's another lunch!

Today's fare: TVP tuna on flat slices of Granny Smith apple. Salty, sweet, crunchy, GOOD!

I don't know that I've ever put my TVP tuna recipe in one post so here goes:

Nik's TVP Tuna

Ingredients:

4 oz. tuna in can, liquids reserved
1/4 c. textured vegetable protein (if you're going "what's that?" click here)
1 tbsp. whatever mayo you feel comfortable using (I do low-fat but NEVER fat free)
2 tbsp. Greek yogurt
1 tsp. (not tbsp) Dijon mustard (I know this seems like a lot of wet stuff but trust me...it works out)
1 tbsp. finely diced onions
a dash each of: garlic powder, salt and pepper

Directions:

Combine tuna, liquid, seasonings and TVP in a bowl and mix well. Allow the TVP to soak up the liquids.

In a separate bowl, combine mayo, yogurt and mustard. Mix well.

Combine the the tuna mixture with the mayo mixture, add the onions and mix again!

Serving this on the apple slices makes a nice alternative to crackers and something about the combo of tart apples and onions really does it for me (I am weird like that).

Anyhoo...you may now return to your regularly scheduled afternoon!

Mexican Sausage & Peppers

(This recipe is brought to you by Trader Joes. Yummy!)


So the divas and I went to Trader Joe’s the other day. For us this is a trek but it’s well worth it. I always try to pick up at least one thing I’ve never tried before to broaden my horizons. So this time I got some Spicy Jalapeno Chicken Sausages. They look like this:

(Not my hand)

Now anyone who knows me knows I don’t have the ability to eat food products as they come to me. I have to make it into something else. HAVE TO.

Here’s what I did with my sausages.

Nik’s Mexican Sausage and Peppers

Ingredients:
1 TJ’s Spicy Jalapeno Chicken Sausage, cut into slices
½ of a small onion, cut into strips
¼ of a green pepper, cut into strips
1/3 c. salsa (I used regular medium salsa but TJ’s chipotle salsa would do well as well)
¼ c. Mexican blend cheese

Directions:

I cooked my sausage whole on the grill pan while simultaneously sautéing the onions and peppers on my griddle. This worked well since I like my onions caramelized and my peppers fairly soft.

By the time the onions and peppers were about ready, the sausage was done. I transferred it to a cutting board and cut it into slices. If you are newer out, you might want to think about even dicing the sausage into smaller pieces.

Add the sausage pieces to the onions and peppers on the griddle pan and mix them well. Add the salsa and stir until fully incorporated.

Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with cheese while hot. NOM!

TIP: To make this a super tasty breakfast I added some scrambled eggs into the mix which, for me, made this two meals. Without the eggs, for me, it is one. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

Thai Shrimp Salad

Are you gearing up for that family BBQ yet? If you’re early out (or if eating around non-ops works your nerves), be sure to check out my survival guide to summer BBQ’s to help you deal.

In the meantime, let’s move forward with recipes you might pass. This one is for folks who have families that like (or are receptive to) international cuisine or those who have “adventurous palettes.”

It’s a spin-off of a submission by my friend Dee who remade a similar chicken salad of mine. So in this one post you are actually getting THREE choices on two different variations of this recipe. Aren’t choices grand???

Nik’s Thai Shrimp Salad

Ingredients

1 lb. of steamed shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 small onion, finely diced
½ cucumber, finely diced (you can peel if you want, I did not)
1 c. matchstick carrots
½ c. unflavored Greek yogurt
1 heaping tbsp low-fat mayo
2 tbsp PB2 (powdered peanut) OR 1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 packet of no-calorie sweetener
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp minced garlic
¼ tsp cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
1 tsp lime juice (I used the squeezy kind that you get in the produce section)
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Optional: (and not recommended for new post-ops), 1 stalk of celery, finely diced.

Directions:

Combine first four ingredients, plus celery if you are using, in a bowl.

In a separate bowl mix together the yogurt, mayo and powdered peanut. If you using peanut butter, nuke it about 15 seconds to soften it up.

Once that’s well mixed, add your spices and mix again. Taste. The peanut taste should come through and it should be tangy (from the yogurt and lime juice) and just ever so slightly sweet and spicy. If it is all those things, you are good to go.

Heap dressing on top of the shrimp mixture and mix it thoroughly.

Refrigerate until ready to eat!

This stuff is sooooooo GOOD! I put the recipe for a small batch of it (just in case you’d like to make it for yourself). It’s easy to double it and I would suggest you do because it’s not going to last long on the picnic table! I’d serve it with Bibb or Iceberg whole lettuce leaves to make a lettuce wrap. That’s always fun.