Chicken Marbella and mushroom lentils

For the chicken:
2 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut in 3" pieces
1 cup kalamata olives, with a little juice
1/2 cup spanish olives, with a little juice
1 cup dried prunes (or try apricots?)
2 Tbs. capers in a little juice
10 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbs. brown sugar

Combine all in a ziploc bag and marinate in the refrigerator for 3 hours or more. Bake chicken (and olives and prunes) in marinade in a 400 oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove from baking dish with a slotted spoon and serve over Mushroom lentils pouring a bit of the pan juice on the top.

Mushroom Lentils:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cups sliced white and cremini mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
juice of half a lemon
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 package trader joe's pre-steamed french lentils (about 3 cups, I think?)
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions in olive oil. Add mushrooms and cook until juice releases. If pan is too dry, you can add a splash of water. Add cilantro, lemon, red pepper, stir. Add lentils and break apart with wooden spoon, stirring to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve.

White bean and meatball soup

This is a great soup--and a spiritual cousin to the Polpette and Orzo en Brodo.

2 Tbs. olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
2 long carrots, chopped
6 cups chicken broth
2 cans white beans, drained
1 bag frozen meatballs (I like the trader joes mini ones) or make your own with ground beef or turkey
1 jar Trader Joes Roasted red pepper and eggplant garlic spread.

Heat oil in soup pot. Saute veggies. Add broth, beans and meat balls, bring to a boil. Empty jar of spread into soup. Stir and simmer for 1 hour.

Zucchini They will eat

Stolen froma website but altered so many times I don't feel an attribution is necessary!

4 slices bacon
2 shallots, peeled and sliced
4 small or 2 medium zucchini, cut into quarter inch julienne strips (maybe 4" long)
1/4 cup white wine
salt and pepper
4 slices havarti cheeese, or 1 cup shredded white cheese (havarti, parm, provolone, asiago, mozzarella)

Fry bacon until crisp. Remove from pan. Cool and crumble. Drain all but a little bit of the fat from the pan and saute shallots until browned. Add zucchini and stir. Add wine and deglaze pan a little. Add salt and pepper and let the whole thing bubble until wine has cooked down and zucchini is tender-crisp. Add bacon then top with cheese. Either cover the pan so cheese melts (over low heat) or pop in the oven until you are ready to eat. Stir and serve.

YUM! Even good reheated the next day.