Thursday, April 12, 2012

Brussel Sprout and Chicken Linguini



Brussel Sprout and Chicken Linguini




This is one of those recipes that came to be when my cabinets were bare and my fridge was close to empty.  I needed to make a meal with what I had on hand, and wanted to use the last of my vegetables that I had in the fridge.  I was so pleased with the results of my endeavors, this is now one of my favorite recipes!  The recipe below will serve two families, for I made this for ourselves and delivered the other portion to some friends who just added a new baby to the family. Feel free to cut the recipe by half, although I recommend using the same amount of chicken and brussel sprouts, but I like chicken and brussel sprouts in each bite! If you haven't ever had brussel sprouts before, or even if you have and didn't enjoy them, I encourage you to try this recipe and see what you think! 


Our ingredients
Saute onions and garlic until translucent 
After peeling, cut brussel sprouts into fourths
Allow to simmer with 1 cup of chicken broth 
Cook chicken breasts and sprinkle with flour 
This is where I skipped a step and didn't photograph adding the milk and cream with the whisked flour and then combining the chicken and cream dish with the brussel sprout dish.  Pretend that I didn't do that.  :) 

Serve on whole wheat linguini and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese



Place onion in a large skillet with garlic and 1Tbs coconut oil (or olive oil) on medium heat. Sauté until onions are translucent. Add in brussel sprouts that you have already peeled the outside layer off of and cut in half and then in half again. Stir into the onions 
and garlic. Add 1 cup of chicken broth (feel free to substitute with 1cup water + 1tsp organic chicken base or 1 chicken bouillon cube) and place life on skillet.  Bring to a slight boil and then turn the heat down to low.  Stir occasionally.

While the brussel sprouts are cooking, and remembering to stir occasionally, put 1/2Tbs of coconut oil in a medium size sauce pan.  Slice the two chicken breast in half to make them skinny and then cut into bite-size pieces.  Add the chicken breasts to the saucepan and cook until done on medium heat.  Sprinkle with 2Tbs of flour and stir to coat. Whisk 2Tbs of flour into 3 cups of heavy cream and 1 cup of milk, pour onto the chicken and stir together. Add brussel sprout (they should be very tender by this time, if not, cook longer) and chicken broth mixture to the saucepan and stir. Add 1 more cup of chicken broth and stir. Turn to low and heat to thicken.

Serve on whole wheat linguini pasta, sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan, and enjoy!


Ingredients:
½ large onion, diced
1 minced clove of garlic
1Tbs + ½Tbs coconut oil
16oz brussel sprouts
2Tbs + 2Tbs flour
1 cup + 1 cup chicken broth 
3 Cups heavy cream
1 Cup milk
2 packages of whole wheat linguini pasta
Freshly grated parmesan cheese