Fit n Busy Mama Dinner "Party"

Since I've started my blog, I have had several friends of mine that started trying to eat healthier and feed their families healthy home cooked meals.  Let me just say that this TOTALLY makes my day!  I LOVE getting random texts from friends with pictures of food they're making.  It makes all of this work worth it!  So, we had plans to go out to a nice restaurant with some friends tonight but when it came down to it, we didn't have a babysitter set up and decided not to spend all that money on a night out.  So, we had the brilliant idea to have a dinner "party" instead.  I guess I can't really call it a party since it was just us 2 families....but hey, wherever we are, it's a party right??



We love this dish at Delasandro's Tulsa, the Swordfish Piccata.  My friend (another Fit n Busy Mama!) decided to re-create this dish using her special piccata sauce!

Here she is showing off her swordfish.  The fish was VERY GOOD!!  Her piccata recipe can be used for chicken or fish.

Chicken or Fish Piccata
Chicken breasts or white fish of your choice
Fresh ground black pepper and sea salt
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 T (poultry) seasoning
2 T butter (try to use Earth Balance soy butter if possible)
1 c low sodium chicken broth
1/3 c fresh lemon juice
2 oz capers with juice
1 c organic light soy milk
1/2 tsp xanthan gum ( or 1-2 tsp cornstarch)

Mix salt, pepper, flour, and seasoning in a bowl.
Heat butter in large skillet.
Dredge chicken or fish in flour seasoning and put in hot pan with butter
After about 2-3 min, flip chicken or fish and add broth, lemon juice and capers.
Once chicken or fish is cooked through, remove it from the pan and cover to keep it hot.
Add milk to the pan over medium heat.  Once it is mixed well, add xanthan gum, 1/4 tsp at a time, slowly stirring until it gradually thickens.

Serve chicken or fish with the piccata sauce, some cooked whole wheat or brown rice noodles, and a steamed or sauteed veggie side dish!

She also whipped up some sauteed squash & zucchini

Oh yes and she did sprinkle some chia seeds on top, along with some black pepper!

 I brought the salad

Which consisted of organic baby romaine, dried cranberries (unsweetened), and raw pecans with Newman's own olive oil and vinegar dressing.

Also, made some pita chips

1 Package whole wheat pitas (revised from Eat Clean Cookbook)
No stick olive oil spray
Sea Salt
Fresh cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Split each pita into 2 rounds.  Place rough side up on baking sheet.  Tear into smaller chip size pieces.  Spray with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper, as desired.
Put in oven for 6-9 minutes until golden brown (or slightly burnt how I like them)
Store in an airtight container.

And I brought dessert, homemade skinny peanut butter banana chocolate chip cookies. They were sugar and butter free and AWESOME!!!  Here is the recipe:

Banana & Peanut Butter Flax seed Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 medium banana, mashed
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup unsalted natural peanut butter
• 2 tsp pure vanilla
• 1/4 cup mini dark chocolate chips, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, flaxseed, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mash banana with a fork. Stir in maple syrup, peanut butter and vanilla until well combined.
4. Add flour mixture to banana mixture, stirring just to combine; do not over-mix. 

5.  Fold in chocolate chips, if desired.

6.  Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheet.

7.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 2 minutes. Remove cookies from sheet and let cool directly on rack.
**I made some cookies that were only PB. On those, I mushed down with a fork to make the classic peanut butter cookie markings on top, as seen in the pic right under the recipe title.**

Well, we had a fabulous time and hopefully we can do it again!  It is fun experimenting with new healthy foods and hanging out with friends!!

Thanks for reading!!