Chicken and Lentils in Apple-Curry Sauce

 

Make sure you get some good size chicken thighs for this dish because those suckers can shrink up big time, which is why my photo shows 2!  I only had a one-pound pack of chicken thighs instead of the 1-1/2 lbs this recipe calls for, so no biggie!  This is under 500 calories at 436!

Yes, there is 10 g of fat in this recipe but only 2 of them are saturated fats and chicken thighs have so much more flavor than chicken breasts.  Check out that 19 grams of fiber and 38 grams of protein though.   Very filling dish!

Ingredients:

2 Tbs olive oil
6 skinless/boneless chicken highs (about 1-1/2 lbs total)
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs finely shredded fresh ginger
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 Tbs mild curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
3 c reduced-sodium chicken broth
1-1/2 c uncooked lentils, rinsed and drained
3 red and/or green cooking apples, cored and sliced
2 5-oz pkgs baby spinach (8 to 10 cups)

Instructions:

Rinse and drain dried lentils and set aside. 

Place oil in a large nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat and add chicken thighs once hot enough. Cook only 4 to 6 minutes per side turning once or just until nicely golden brown.  Remove (still undercooked chicken) from pan and set aside.

In the same pan add onion to skillet stirring and cooking for about 3 minutes and then add garlic and ginger stirring and cooking for another minute or so more.  Stir in tomato paste, curry powder, garam masala and 1/2 tsp salt mixing well.

Add chicken broth and lentils stirring well and place chicken thighs on top in pan.  Bring to a rapid boil and reduce heat to simmering and simmer for about 30 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Add sliced apples to skillet and cover and simmer for about another 10 minutes. Stir in about 3 cups of spinach until wilted.  No need to cook the spinach in.  The heat from the finished dish still in the pan will wilt your spinach nicely.

Divide the remaining 6 to 8 cups of spinach among the 6 plates or bowls to create a "bed" or a base.  Top each with the lentil-apple mixture and then the chicken thighs.

YIELDS: 6 Servings
SERVING SIZE:  1 thigh, 1-1/2 c spinach, 2/3 c lentil mixture

Nutritional Information:  436 calories, 10 g fat, (2 g sat fat), 108 mg cholesterol, 658 mg sodium, 49 g carb, 13.5 g sugars, 19 g fiber, 38 g protein

Mini Turkey Meat Loaves with Nutty Parsley Gremolata

This dish is one of my favorite ground turkey recipes!  Each loaf comes out to only 270 calories too!  The lemon flavor in the gremolata is a nice accent to this turkey mealoaf!  I am not a big fan of strong lemon flavor but it actually worked so well with in this dish as a delicious compliment!  Just go easy on topping each loaf as a little goes a long way!

I always double this recipe and use toasted pine nuts because they are my fave so I can just use the 16-oz packages of both the ground turkey and the lean ground turkey breast.  It makes 8 loaves this way!  The below instructions are for 4 loaves and 8 oz of each the ground turkey and ground turkey breast.

Ingredients:

Cooking spray, parchment paper, or tinfoil
2 egg whites
1-1/2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup finely chopped dried tomatoes (in pouch not in oil)
1/4 c finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
8 oz uncooked ground turkey
8 oz uncooked ground turkey breast

1/3 cup snipped flat leaf Italian parsley (I chop mine)
1/4 cup chopped toasted pine nuts, walnuts, or sliced almonds
2 tsp walnut oil or olive oil
1/2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a 15" x 10" x 1" baking pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl beat the egg whites with a fork and add in the mushrooms, rolled oats, dried tomatoes, onion, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper.  Add in the ground turkey and mix well.

Divide the meat mixture into four equal portions.  For me this comes out to about 6 ounces each (slightly more).  Shape each into a 4" oval that is about 2-1/2" wide in the center. Place in prepared baking pan so they are not touching.  Bake about 20 minutes or  until internal temperature is 165 degrees.

While loaves are baking, make the gremolata mixture.  Stir together the parsley, the nuts, oil, lemon peel, lemon juice and 1/8 tsp salt.

To serve, top each loaf with a serving of the gremolata.

YIELDS:  4 Servings
SERVING SIZE:  1 loaf

Nutritional Information:  270 calories, 12 g fat (2 g sat), 68 mg chol, 479 mg sodium, 10 g carb, 3 g sugars, 2 g fiber, 30 g protein.