Chicken with Roasted Garlic Cashew Cream Sauce

 

So today was a draining day...just a lot going on and it was mentally draining...but I still worked out with P90 and made a really good dinner.

Speaking of dinner, my recipe tonight was thanks to Clean Eating Magazine...Chicken in Roasted Cashew Cream Sauce.  Something great about a simple clean meal. You have to prepare for this one since you have to soak the cashews overnight to become soft.  This has been on my menu for a few weeks but never got cooked since I kept forgetting to soak them.

Chicken in Roasted Garlic Cashew Cream Sauce
Serves 5
21 Day Fix Containers: 1R, 1G, 1B

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup raw unsalted cashews (6B)

Olive oil cooking spray 

1 head garlic (whole) plus 2 cloves garlic, minced, divided 

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 

1 1/2 tsp olive oil, divided (1 1/2 tsp)

5 5-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts (5R)

Pinch sea salt 

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper 

1 large shallot, finely chopped 

5 cups broccoli florets (5G)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place cashews in a bowl and cover with cold water. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut a 10-inch square of foil and mist with cooking spray. Slice 1⁄4-inch from top of head of garlic. Place cut side up on foil and wrap tightly. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 1 hour. Set aside to cool. (Or there's my cheater way since I HATE peeling whole cloves of garlic, I buy them already done and put them in my foil).

When garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze cloves out of peel into a blender; discard peels (or dump them like I did since they were already peeled). Drain cashews and add to blender along with lemon juice and 1 cup cold water. Begin blending on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until mixture is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.

In a large nonstick skillet on medium-high, heat 1 tsp oil. Season chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Cook, turning halfway, until browned on both sides and cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove from skillet to a plate and cover to keep warm.

Heat remaining 1/2 tsp oil in skillet. Add shallot and broccoli (I quickly steamed my broccoli 1st, man I love steamer bags) and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until shallot is browned and softened. Add remaining minced garlic and sauté for 1 more minute. Remove to plate with chicken.

Add cashew mixture to same skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until warmed through and slightly thickened, about 1 minute (mine thickened a lot and I had to add more water to it). Serve over chicken and broccoli. Season with additional pepper.

Nutritional info according to MFP:
Calories: 345
Fat: 18
Carbs: 11
Fiber: 2
Protein: 35

VERDICT: Well 1 of my 3 kids liked the sauce and hubby and I like it.  I will make it again...it really did do a nice job and add a good flavor.  I was concerned but it worked.  Make sure you have a good blender so it's not gritty, I have a vitamix and it worked perfect.

Chicken & Asparagus Lemon Stir Fry

So I love to cook and don't repeat meals much but I am not that creative to just throw something together usually.  I love finding new recipes on Pinterest, the many cookbooks I own and other websites.  I usually adapt recipes to fit my families likes and needs.  I will always, when possible (I might have found a recipe YEARS ago and not know it's source) give credit where credit is due.   
 
So tonight for dinner is Chicken & Asparagus Lemon Stir Fry.  I have adapted this to make it more 21 Day Fix friendly from Skinnytaste.com.  With a few simple changes in ingredients this has become a fix friendly meal that everyone will love.

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Chicken & Asparagus Lemon Stir Fry
Serves 5
Fix containers (1R, 1/2G, 1/2tsp) 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes (6R)
• Sea Salt, to taste
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce or Tamar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tbsp olive oil, divided (3tsp)
• 30 asparagus spears, cut into 2-inch pieces (3G)
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• fresh black pepper, to taste

Directions: 

Season chopped up chicken with salt.  In a small bowl combine chicken broth & soy sauce.  In another small bowl combine cornstarch and water and mix well.

Heat a large wok or pan to medium high heat, add 1 tsp of olive oil, saute asparagus until tender crisp.  Add in the garlic and ginger and saute until golden brown.  Set aside.

In the same pan, increase the heat to high and add in the remaining olive oil.  Add in chicken and cook until it's golden brown and cooked all the way through.  Set aside.

Add the soy sauce mixture; bring to a boil and cook about 1-1/2 minutes. Add lemon juice and cornstarch mixture (you will have to stir this in the small bowl again to mix up the cornstarch again) and stir well, when it simmers return the chicken and asparagus to the wok and mix well, remove from heat and serve.
 
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This really was an easy meal to cook and came together fast (and if you are a busy mom like me you need fast meals). The lemon taste was strong so if you don't like lemon don't put it in or put less in. Next time I will add in another 20 asparagus spears to make it a full green container and bulk up my stir fry. I served this simple stir fry with some brown rice & a salad on the side and my total meal was 1R, 2 1/2G, 1/2Y (I didn't eat all my rice), 1O & 1/2tsp!

Verdict: everyone loved it and asked for me to make it again...SCORE! 

So enjoy your dinner and some good family time!