Although it hasn’t been that long since I started writing here again, I feel like this project is helping me get more organized and focused.  I find myself constantly searching for recipes from different sources and trying to get more creative with my weekly meals.  As I’ve mentioned before, I usually eat the same thing multiple times during the week, so each time I cook, I have to take that into consideration.  For example, I grew tired very quickly from last week’s Cuban Picadillo, but I could have eaten more of the previous week’s Skinny Chicken Enchiladas.

Since last week, I had been trying to decide what to make and couldn’t come up with a solid plan.  The long weekend came and went, and Monday night I still hadn’t decided.  Tuesday I finally settled on a chicken skillet recipe but I ended up leaving work so late that I didn’t have the energy to go grocery shopping, much less cook.  Sometimes I’ll resort to Instacart and have my groceries delivered, but now with the blog I like to pick out the items in person.  Tuesday while browsing Instagram, I came across a friend’s lunch plate and knew that that was what I wanted to make. 

Stroganoff is a Russian dish that is usually made with beef and sour cream (thanks, Wikipedia!).  The Brazilian version is made with beef and heavy cream.  The version I made used chicken and a light creamy Brazilian cheese called “requeijão”.  Brazilian beef stroganoff is comfort food for me and I was excited to try this lighter version.  My friend’s meal consisted of light chicken stroganoff, cauliflower rice and sliced sweet potatoes.  I thought it was a great idea and decided to make the entire meal.

I used the following recipes:

• Papo Gula’s Light Chicken Stroganoff (with Projeto Mestre Cuca’s recipe for cooking tips)
• Keep Your Diet Real’s Roasted Sweet Potato Slices

Here’s the order I cooked:

1. Started steaming the cauliflower.
2. Started prepping the sweet potatoes.
3. While the cauliflower was starting to steam and potatoes were baking, started slicing the chicken.
4. When almost done slicing and cutting chicken into cubes, started cooking the onions.

LIGHT CHICKEN STROGANOFF

Please note that I altered the original recipe slightly and doubled the ingredients.  I also wasn’t sure how long to cook the chicken for so I used other similar recipes as a guide.  I’ll try to provide more detailed instructions below, but all of the ingredients listed are my alternate version of the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.3 lbs organic skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes (I sliced the chicken into strips and then cut the strips into cubes)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp “requeijão light” (Brazilian cream cheese – I don’t think there is an equivalent of it in the US, but I was able to find the real version at a local Brazilian market.  It has the consistency of a thicker condensed milk.  If I didn’t find the cream cheese I would have used light cream instead.)
• mushrooms in a can/jar, drained (could be whole mushrooms or sliced, brown or white)
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat olive oil on medium-high heat, add onions.
2. Cook onions until golden.
3. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper, cook for approximately 10-12 minutes (until cooked thoroughly).
4. Drain liquid, if any.
5. Add tomato sauce and cook for about 5 minutes.
6. Add Brazilian cream cheese and mushrooms, cook for about 5 minutes on low heat.

Serves 4
(Serving Size: approximately 1 cup)

Calories	246
Total Fat	6.4 g
Saturated Fat	1.5 g
Cholesterol	112.8 mg
Sodium	627.4 mg (without salt)
Total Carbohydrate	5.6 g
Dietary Fiber	1.6 g
Sugars	3.2 g
Protein	39.6 g
Calcium	14.8%

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ROASTED SWEET POTATO SLICES

INGREDIENTS

• 4 sweet potatoes (I used 3 Japanese sweet potatoes)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• garlic powder
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with foil or baking parchment paper.  I missed the part of lining the baking sheet but I did spray the baking sheet with an organic non-stick spray.
2. Rinse, peel and slice sweet potatoes into 1/4 inch round slices (or wedges, etc.).  Place in a large mixing bowl.  (I left the skin on.)
3. Lightly coat sweet potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder.  Spread sweet potato slices on baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes. Sweet potatoes will be tender when pierced with a fork and slightly crispy at the edges.
4. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper (to taste).

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CAULIFLOWER MASHED “POTATOES”

I tried to make the cauliflower rice but I over-steamed the cauliflower and when I went to use the food processor to make the “rice”, it all turned to mush.  So I decided to just mash the cauliflower with salt and garlic powder.  I have made cauliflower rice before without steaming, but I decided to try a new recipe today that required steaming first.  I’ll post the recipe when I make the rice next time.

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NOTES

Even with the cauliflower issue, I am happy with the results!  All of the dishes were very easy to make and I was able to do it all in about 45 minutes.  The stroganoff was great but truth be told, it definitely doesn’t compare to the original Brazilian version.  Maybe one day I’ll make that version and share the recipe.  (I like it with white rice and Pik-Nik shoestring potatoes, definitely not light!)  I was pleasantly surprised with the sweet potato slices.  Not that I thought they would turn out bad, but I didn’t expect to like them so much!

Enjoy!
Adri