Smothered Chicken with Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 shallot, minced (or 1/4 cup finely minced yellow or white onion)
• 8 ounces white button or baby bella mushrooms, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken or beef broth
• 1/2 cup milk, half-and-half or cream
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until rippling and hot. Add the chicken and cook for about 4 minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through. Don't overcook or you'll have dry chicken (if you have a thermometer, cook until 165 degrees F). Remove to plate and cover to keep warm.
2. Add the butter to the pan and melt over medium heat. Stir in the shallot, mushrooms, salt, thyme and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are tender and golden and the liquid has released and most of it has evaporated, 8-10 minutes.
3. Sprinkle the flour over the mushroom/onion mixture and stir while the mixture cooks for 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the broth, adding just a bit at a time and whisking until thick then adding a bit more (this will help the flour to absorb into liquid and not clump on the mushrooms). Once all the broth has been added and the sauce is smooth, stir in the milk, and simmer the mixture for 5-7 minutes until it is thick and bubbly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately over the reserved chicken (this is also amazing on mashed potatoes).

~Recipe from melskitchencafe.com

Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas

Yields: 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 15 ounces can garbanzo beans (or 2 cups cooked chickpeas) (FYI: chickpeas & garbanzo beans are the same thing)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 Tablespoon honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven  to 375°F.
2. Drain and rinse garbanzo beans, running them under cool water for several minutes to clean off the starch. You may remove the skins from the beans or you can leave them on - it's your personal preference. Dry off beans.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, cinnamon, and sugar. Place beans in bowl and stir until evenly coated. Spread the beans on a large baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until beans are crunchy and no longer soft in the middle. Test taste every few minutes until desired texture is reached.
4. Place hot, roasted beans in a small bowl and coat evenly with honey. Spread beans back out on baking sheet and allow to dry. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

~Recipe from pastryaffair.com

Spinach Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (about one single serving cup)
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup fresh spinach, packed
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Processes wet ingredients in a blender: applesauce, egg, vanilla, spinach, sugar and oil.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl: flour baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Add the wet spinach mixture to the dry ingredients.
5. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet until combined. You can use a spoon or spatula. The mixture will be very dense! On occasion, if it seems too dense, I'll add a splash of milk to loosen it up, but the mixture should resemble a thick cookie dough. It won't pour easily.
6. Scoop the batter into greased muffin tins. This recipe will make 8-9 large muffins or 24 mini-muffins.
7. Bake for 12 minutes for mini-muffins or 17 minutes for regular-sized muffins.
8. Let them cool on a rack and enjoy! 

~Recipe adapted from mamasaywhat.com