In the past, I have made a sundried tomato/artichoke pasta that is DELICIOUS. Now, it's not very challenge friendly, so that's not what I will be making for this challenge...I will see what I can come up with, I don't want to just put them in salads, but I will if I have to!

Using those same type of ingredients (not the pasta, everything else) makes a GREAT dip, pulsed in a food processor. Just use broth and lemon juice and a tiny bit of oil if you are counting calories and fat. It is good!

Okay, I found what I am going to try, it's from allrecipes.com:

Artichoke and Sun-dried Tomato Chicken
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green peppers and onions
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato pesto
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts in water, drained and quartered

Season both sides of chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken in skillet; cook, turning once to brown each side. Remove chicken from pan, and set aside.

Pour tomatoes into pan; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, and incorporating any brown bits from bottom of pan. Stir in pesto and artichokes, and return chicken to pan. Cover, and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

According to their calculations, the nutritional info is:
makes 4 servings. 249 cals, 6.5g fat, 68mg cholesterol, 1193mg sodium (yikes!), 15.4g carbs, 4.8g fiber, 31.8g protein.

This served with a nice salad could be a good figure friendly meal. I'm giving it a shot! I'm not using salt, though...I think it will be salty enough with the pesto.

Trooworld- Thanks for the Artichoke and sun-dried tomato chicken! That sounds really good. I'm going grocery shopping either tomorrow or this weekend and def getting more artichoke. I got a med size one last time and enjoyed it but I think I'm going to get the hearts one this time so it's easier to use. :P

I am saving all the nice recipes.. I started putting lots and lots of veggies in whatever I make, from Mac and Cheese to Sloppy Joes. (spinach&mushroom sloppy joes.. really good actually) Well, my BF told me "You are like obsessed with putting veggies in food now. You know, you don't have to put it in everything you cook, you can just put it on the side." Well, I'm trying to get my 2 yr old DD to eat veggies, which led me to putting them in everything. But all these nice recipes really will help me out! Thanks ladies!

(This sounds real good to me...I bet you can make it lower calorie with using a different bread other than a baguette and use as low fat of goat cheese as possible (if you're interested in lower fat foods).)

Artichoke, Oven-Roasted Tomato, and Goat Cheese Panini
- makes 2 sandwiches -

Ingredients
3 ounces fresh goat cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 six-inch lengths of baguette
10 oven-roasted tomato halves
1 six-ounce jar quartered marinated artichoke hearts, drained

Procedure
1. Preheat sandwich press according to manufacturer's instructions. Meanwhile, combine the goat cheese, basil, and olive oil in a small bowl; mash and stir until cheese is softened and well-combined with the other ingredients.

2. Slice baguette pieces in half lengthwise; spread goat cheese mixture evenly among bottom halves. Arrange tomatoes and 'chokes on top of cheese, and top sandwiches with baguette tops.

3. Place sandwiches in the press, pulling down top and cooking till sandwiches are browned, 4 to 7 minutes, depending on heat of your machine. Remove from press and serve immediately.

trooworld that recipe looks wonderful! I am going to try it too! I have all of those things on hand already. Thanks for doing the research for another great ARTICHOKE recipe!

I've been searching for some healthy sounding artichoke recipes, and there aren't tons (but there are tons of variations to the artichoke recipe). Here's one that sounds good:

Baked Chicken and Artichoke Casserole (This recipe is similar, but some different, to the recipe that trooworld posted - thank you!; source: SparkPeople recipes)

Servings per recipe: 2; 75 Minutes to Prepare and Cook

Ingredients:

2 5oz. chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 8oz. can artichoke hearts, rinsed, and drained
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 black olives, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium pot, place chicken breast and broth and simmer. Poach until tender. When cooked, shred chicken into bite-sized pieces. Place chicken, onion, red bell pepper, artichoke hearts, garlic, olives, and lemon juice in a medium casserole dish and mix well. Cover and bake in oven for 45 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce and return to oven for 20 minutes uncovered. Mix in cilantro and serve.

Amount Per Serving:
Calories 325.5
Total Fat 5.4 g
Dietary Fiber 7.8 g
Cholesterol 83.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate 28.3 g
Protein 43.5 g

Okay, so I made the Artichoke and Sundried Tomato Chicken tonight. It was FABULOUS! It would have been really great over some whole wheat pasta, but I had it by itself with a spinach salad on the side. Delicious, I highly recommend it! What's next???

we're trying the artichoke & sundried tomato chicken tonight. i hope i can find the sundried tomato pesto.

Angeline, I got Classico brand, it was right beside the traditional pesto in Vons. If not there, you could try the produce section, sometimes they have specialty stuff there.

As for the next idea...

The 19th is Victoria Day for our Canadian friends and the 26th is Memorial Day for those of us in the States. I admit I don't know much about Victoria Day - (please feel free to educate me) however I do know that Memorial Day is traditionally one of the first big cookouts of the year and a kick off to summer.

Anyone interested in posting their ideas for healthy picnic and cookout side dishes and main meals this next round?

I found another artichoke recipe to share that I think sounds very good!

Spanish Artichoke "Tortilla"

Prep time: 10 minutes; Cook time: 50 minutes

(In Spain, tortillas are fritata-like dishses typically made with potatoes. In this recipe, potatoes have been replaced with artichokes.)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (9-ounce) package frozen baby artichoke hearts, thawed and quartered
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
3 large eggs plus 3/4 cup fat-free egg substitute, lightly beaten

Directions:
In a medium nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until onions begin to soften. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until onions are very tender, 15 minutes longer.

Add artichoke hearts, paprika, and cayenne; cook, uncovered, until artichokes are heated through, about 5 minutes. Pour eggs over vegetables, cover, and cook over low heat until set, about 20 minutes.

Uncover the pan and place a large plate over the skillet. Carefully invert the pan and release tortilla onto the plate. Slide inverted tortilla back into the skillet and continue cooking until bottom is golden brown. 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate and cut into quarters. Serve warm.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 163 calories; 8g fat; 2g saturated fat; 11g protein; 12g carbs; 5g fiber.

Troo we are trying the artichoke chicken tonight too..and I have some whole wheat pasta so I will make it up along side. Must be chicken night

Oh, I think that holiday healthy foods is a great idea Happy!

BBQ veggies even!

I did small zucchini and little baby peppers and onions on the grill on Saturday.

Just slice the zucchini in half length-wise and make a few extra slits in the white fleshy part, brush with a little olive oil (I put 2 cloves of garlic in mine) sprinkle with some salty spice blend and grill. If you have the points/calories or want to zip this up for your guests put a little Parmesan cheese on top after they are cooked, it is fantastic!

Onions and peppers, the same, I just cut them in large chunks or just in half, brush with oil and spices and grill.

Frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts I treat exactly the same as the veggies and they cook in about 5 min per side if they are small. Great alternative to hotdogs or burgers!

A nice hummus plate with baby carrots, celery sticks, jarred baby corns, sliced baby peppers (red, yellow, and orange) pita chips, other sliced veggies is always nice. Heck, put some cooked artichoke leaves there too for dipping in the hummus!!

Someone posted a nice tip about grilling mushrooms in a foil packet on the grill too...I did that as well on Saturday and they were very good.

thanks troo!!

i actually found a small jar in the produce section. the brand is delallo, in case anyone is interested. looks delicious!! (definitely not low cal nor is it low fat)

Working on a new meal plan today so I will get caught up on Eggplant and Artichoke this weekend. Then I will dig out some recipies my self. Which is a good thing as the shoe box of ideas is over flowing some really should get "tried" before DH decided to toss them to the recycling saying that I will never try these as I have all sorts of new recipies to try in shoe box #2