Easy and Delicious

The next series of posts are a backlog of recipes I've made over the past few weeks. They are all quite yummy and more importantly, VERY easy! Some can be made the night before, while others can be thrown together to cook pretty quickly as long as you have the ingredients on hand. Healthy(ish), simple and delicious. #Winning! 

Jaime's Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless chicken breast cubed
1 finely chopped onion
1 finely chopped garlic clove
1 finely chopped bell pepper
4 medium bay leaves
Parsley flakes
1/3 cup olive oil
1 - 6oz can tomato paste
2 - cans chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 cup long grain rice
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:
Saute chicken, onion, garlic & bell pepper in olive oil until golden brown.

Add in the tomato paste, bay leaves & parsley and bring to a boil. Pour in 2 cans of broth and again bring to a boil.

Stir in the rice and cover. Let it simmer and stir occasionally to make sure all the rice is submerged. When most of the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat. Keep covered for about an hour, serve & enjoy!

Curried Chicken Salad

Sometimes, the easiest dinner for us is to simply roast a chicken and use the leftovers for the next few meals. With just two of us (okay, and the scraps we feed to the dog), a whole chicken can get us pretty far. However, there are times when I want to jazz up my leftovers and get out of the same meal after a day or two. So I took this leftover chicken and made it into Curried Chicken Salad. I'm magical like that.

(if you like curry, you'll love my curried egg salad- yum!)

This is a great recipe because you can easily tailor it to your own tastes. I improvised, using what I know of other curried-salad-things, and just threw in a little of this and a little of that.

Ingredients:
Roast chicken, cut into chunks
Approx. 1/4 cup mayo (depending on your tastes)
Curry powder
Ginger powder
Salt
Pepper
Mango chutney, optional
Celery, chopped, optional (choptional?)

Instructions: Combine mayo, curry, ginger, salt, pepper, mango chutney and celery in a bowl, adjusting spices until you're happy with it. Throw in chicken and stir to combine. Let the flavors meld for a little while before serving - about an hour in the fridge.

Lemon Caper Chicken Thighs

So I've been a little preoccupied. Can you blame me? With these 12.5lbs of deliciousness hanging around, it's a little hard to get anything done! Eli is scrumptious and just the sweetest most mellow baby ever. Just like his daddy.


As it turns out, cooking and baking one-handed while bouncing around a baby and singing "Old MacDonald..." isn't as easy as you'd think! Most of the dinners I have thrown together over the past few weeks have either been an old favorite that I knew by heart, or a bunch of odds and ends. However, I did go back to Weight Watchers, so you'll see a lot more of their recipes on here.

This newest addition is chicken thighs sauteed in a lemon-caper sauce. Very easy, and very delicious! I had some boneless skinless thighs to use up, and this recipe popped out at me because we love capers in just about everything. The final sauce was nice and tart from the lemon, and each bite of caper gave off a really good salty contrast. I will definitely make this one again!

Lemon Caper Chicken Thighs
adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients:
1 spray(s) cooking spray
1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/4 pound(s) skinless chicken thigh(s), about 8 thighs (buy regular ones, take the skin off)
1 cup(s) canned chicken broth
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp capers (I used at least 3TBS)

3 cup(s) uncooked string beans, steamed or roasted, as your side dish

Instructions:
Coat a 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray; set over medium-high heat.

In a small bowl, combine flour with pepper; sprinkle over chicken. Brown chicken in a single layer in prepared skillet until golden on bottom, about 6 minutes; flip and brown on second side, about 4 minutes more. Remove chicken from skillet; set aside. (If necessary, brown chicken in two batches.)

Pour broth into skillet and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Return chicken to skillet, cover and reduce heat to low; simmer until heated through, about 3 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and capers; heat for 30 seconds. Yields 2 chicken thighs, 3/4 cup string beans and about 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce per serving.

6 pointsplus per serving

Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs

Chicken thighs are a really inexpensive and delicious option that I hadn't considered before! I normally buy a whole 8-pc cut up chicken, but these were only $5 compared to my usual $13! How could I say no? I googled around for recipes, and found this very simple one that took about 20 minutes. Or, it would have if I hadn't sat down half-way through to rest my feet :-)

It's pretty tasty, although Alex thought the sauce was a tad too sweet. I may have added too much honey, so next time, I'll cut back and double up on the mustard. The chicken cooks up really easily, so you can throw everything in the pan and just read the next chapter of Happiest Baby on the Block while it cooks. Well...okay, not everyone will do that, but some of us do!

adapted from about.com

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. butter (olive oil to keep it kosher)
1 lb. pkg. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 carrots, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. mustard
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Instructions:
Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium heat.

Add chicken and carrots and cook for 8-10 minutes until chicken is browned on bottom. Turn chicken and add remaining ingredients. Cover pan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-13 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Serve over hot cooked rice or couscous.

Oven "Fried" Sesame Chicken

I received this cookbook as an engagement present from my mother-in-law, and I've marked dozens of recipes that I want to make. The only problem was that I put it in the back of my shelf when we moved and forgot about it until last week. I saw the happily striped cover peeking out from behind a Rachael Ray cookbook and I promptly grabbed it. It's a great collection of Kosher recipes, all neatly labeled as meat, dairy or pareve, and it has some wonderful holiday menu suggestions that I'm going to use as a reference for our next holiday meal!

The first recipe I tried was good. Not outstanding, but good. It was incredibly easy and fast to throw together, which I liked. I enjoyed the flavor of the soy sauce with the sesame and pepper, but Alex wanted more kick. I think that I'd try a double-dip next time, along with some more spices, and see how that goes.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (recipe called for bone-in w/skin removed, but I used boneless)

6 TBS sesame seeds (might toast them next time for more flavor?)

4 TBS flour

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup melted margarine or olive oil (if you're not kosher, you could use butter, I'm sure)

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400.

Mix sesame seeds, flour and black pepper in a shallow dish, and pour soy sauce into another shallow dish. Dip both sides of the chicken in soy sauce, and then dredge in the sesame seed mixture. Lay in a baking dish and drizzle with oil/butter/margarine. Bake 40-45 minutes (if bone-in) or about 30 minutes (if boneless).

Italian Chicken

There's chicken hiding under there. I promise.

Dinner inspiration can strike at the most random times. I was in my spin class, suffering through another hill-climb-sprint-c'mon-push it-let's go-you-can-do-it, when I remembered that I didn't have a plan for dinner. I had defrosted chicken earlier in the day, but was at a loss for how to prepare it. Then, as I mentally cursed my sadistic instructor, I remembered watching Giada make chicken parmesan, and I thought "Okay, I can do that, just minus the cheese." Funny how I think about food during my spin class.

Alex and I both thought this was pretty tasty. Next time, I'll fuss a little more with the sauce, like saute more onions and garlic before-hand, maybe with some mushrooms or other veggies. It's great with a green salad and crusty bread to help soak up all the sauce. I'm sure you could top it with cheese, but in my opinion, why ruin a good thing? It's fairly healthy as-is, so you can make this without the cheese and you won't even miss it.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

2-3 TBS flour

Italian seasoning (dried oregano, basil, garlic, pepper)

1 onion

1 clove garlic

1 jar pasta sauce or 1 can crushed tomatoes

Optional - other veggies

Cooking spray

Instructions:

Take the chicken and trim it into smaller "tender" sized pieces. Place each piece between plastic wrap and pound until thin. Mix together flour and spices and then lightly dredge each piece of chicken. Be sure to shake off the excess.

Lightly coat a non-stick pan with cooking spray, and allow the pan to get hot (med-high). Once it's hot, sear chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, until it's browned. Doesn't have to be done all the way through, but it will be mostly cooked because it's so thin. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Spray pan again and saute up the onions and garlic for 5 minutes, until softened. Add other veggies if using. Pour in sauce and allow it to come to a light bubble. Add the chicken back into the sauce, turn down heat and simmer until chicken is hot and cooked through.

Anniversary Dinner Menu

For our 2nd anniversary celebration, I made us a nice homey dinner. We toasted 2 wonderful years with our new favorite wine, a rich and mellow Burgundy from Renault Winery in NJ. I know, Jersey wine? What? Trust me, it's delish!

Alex requested a simple roast chicken and I played around with some new side dishes. This roasted chicken recipe is my go-to choice, easy enough to throw together last minute on any type of chicken and it really highlights the natural flavors.

One side dish choice was inspired by a CSA gift from a friend - swiss chard! I had not had good swiss chard in a while, so I was looking forward to this. It's a nice and buttery green, with a unique flavor. It can be cooked in the same manner as spinach or kale, easy enough to saute up with some garlic and red pepper flakes.

Lastly, I tried a new potato dish that wasn't a 100% success, but I'm willing to try again because it has potential. Hasselback potatoes should be sliced veeeeeery thinly, but I was in a hurry and I think that impacted cooking time. Okay, I know that impacted cooking time! Overall, though, good flavor and easy enough to play around with!

Simple Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

8 pc chicken, rinsed and patted dry

Olive oil (about 1/4 cup, maybe less)

Dried rosemary, thyme, poultry seasoning (about 1-2 TBS each)

Garlic powder (optional)

Salt & pepper

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 425 and lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish. Place the chicken pieces inside, skin side down, making sure they are in a single layer.

Pour the olive oil and spices into a small bowl and mix well. Using a basting brush, coat each piece of chicken with the oil mixture, and then flip and repeat. They should be skin side up when they go into the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes, basting once or twice, or until chicken is 165 degrees inside.

Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

Hasselback Potatoes

Ingredients:

Baking potatoes (one per person)

Olive oil, to coat potatoes (about 2 tsp per potato)

Garlic cloves, sliced very thinly

Salt & pepper

Other spices optional (rosemary, thyme, etc)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450. Lay two wooden spoons down next to each other on a cutting board and place the potato in between the handles. Using a knife, cut thin slices into the potato, but use the spoon handles as a guide to make sure you don't cut all the way through.

Place a slice of garlic in between each potato layer and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Pour olive oil over each potato, rubbing it in well. Put potatoes into a shallow baking dish and bake for about 35-45 minutes, until they are done. Might take longer, depending on your oven.

Sauteed Swiss Chard

adapted from Simply Recipes

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of fresh Swiss chard
1 small clove garlic, sliced
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS water
Pinch of dried crushed red pepper (really, no more! It's pretty spicy with just a pinch!)
Salt

Instructions:
Rinse out the Swiss chard leaves thoroughly. Remove the toughest third of the stalk, discard or save for another recipe. Roughly chop the leaves into inch-wide strips.

Heat a saucepan on a medium heat setting, add olive oil, a few small slices of garlic and the crushed red pepper. Sauté for about a minute. Add the chopped Swiss chard leaves. Cover.

Check after about 5 minutes. If it looks dry, add a couple tablespoons of water. Flip the leaves over in the pan, so that what was on the bottom, is now on the top. Cover again.

Check for doneness after another 5 minutes (remove a piece and taste it). Add salt to taste and serve.

Lebanese Green Beans (Loubia B’Zeit) & Smoked Garlic Chicken

***TWD Espresso Cheesecake Brownies coming tomorrow! I'm going to bake them tonight for a work potluck on Wednesday***

Never go food shopping when you're hungry. I know this simple rule, yet I can't ever seem to follow it. My latest discretion was a visit to the oh-so-lovely Belvedere Square market during a lunch hour, where I wandered past the Neopol Smokery. Usually, just the aroma alone is enough to make me want to lick the display windows, but on that particular day, I was in for a deadly one-two punch. I was hungry and there was a really cute guy working the front counter. He's a charmer, that one. So much so that he charmed me right out of $8 for a head of smoked garlic and a small container of their amazing smoked salmon salad. As my sister-in-law says, that stuff is like crack. It's so good.

Please don't judge me. You weren't there. You don't know!

So there I was, with a head of smoked garlic, just hanging out in my fridge, waiting to be turned into a masterpiece. I was happy enough to spread a bit of it on toast and devour it, but I figured that I should at least try to make an effort for a full meal. Smoked garlic is similar to roasted garlic, in that it become soft and spreadable and a lot more mellow-tasting. The sharp garlic taste is replaced by a smokey, almost sweet flavor that is very easy to enjoy. (If you haven't ever roasted garlic, I highly recommend it! It's so simple).



My friend Andrea recommended a Lebanese side-dish that her husband makes all the time. Mazen is from Beirut and whenever he and Andrea take their family back there for a visit, she posts pictures of all the amazing food they eat. I love Lebanese food, so I knew I had to try this dish. It was a good recipe, but I don't think the smoked garlic was the best choice. The flavor was a little too mellow and didn't really come through. I'll make this again, but with fresh garlic next time!


Lebanese Green Beans (Loubia B’Zeit)

Ingredients:
this serves 6. I didn't realize that and now we have a ton leftover!
1/2kg of fresh green beans, trimmed (approx. 2 lbs)
400g ripe tomatoes, diced or 1 tin of crushed tomatoes (I used a large can of crushed. Fresh would work better!)
3 brown onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic crushed
3 tbs olive oil
2 tbs lemon juice
salt & pepper

Instructions:
Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped onions and sauté until very soft, around 10 minutes.

Add the garlic, beans, salt and pepper and any dried herbs (if using – see note below), and saute for on a low heat for 10-15 minutes, or till the beans started to wilt.

Add the tomatoes and lemon juice, then bring to a boil.

Cover and cook over a very low heat until the tomatoes form a thick sauce – around 45 minutes.
Season with fresh herbs or salt & pepper here if using them, but delicious as is.


I also used the garlic in a chicken recipe that I just kind of threw together. This was a better way to highlight the smoked garlic, since you could spread it on each bite of chicken as you went along.


Smoked Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
5-7 cloves smoked garlic, peeled
1 tbs olive oil
Poultry seasoning (dried thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, garlic)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425. Spray a cooking dish with cooking spray.

Divide the olive oil over all the chicken and coat evenly. Season each breast with herbs and lay in the baking dish. Top each with a few cloves of garlic, and cover the dish with foil. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until chicken registers 165 degrees. While it's still hot, mash up each garlic clove on top of the chicken and spread around, almost like butter.

Chickity China, The Chinese Chicken

You have a drumstick and your brain starts tickin'

Yes, I know all the lyrics to One Week by Barenaked Ladies. I memorized them when the Stunt CD came out and I was thrilled to have my ice cream flavor of choice validated by my favorite band - after all, if the totally awesome men of BNL thought vanilla is the finest of the flavors, then all was right in my teenaged world. But I digress...

This post is about Chinese Chicken. After I made the TWD Brownie Buttons with orange zest, I had a sad little naked orange looking at me. I couldn't bear to put it back in the bowl because I knew it would just get hard after a few days. So, I decided to make Orange Chicken. But, not the regular full-fat-fried-MSG-loaded-with-goopy-electric-sauce version. I went with a lighter healthier WW version.

It was good, but not outstanding. I was hoping for a sharper orange flavor, but I think I was limited because most of my zest was already in the brownies. I'll try this recipe again, but with a full orange's worth. Overall, it's a good one to try if you want Chinese food flavor without the heavy MSG'ed feeling.

Name this picture...

Ingredients:
2 tsp dark sesame oil
2 tsp orange zest, strips
1lb uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
15 oz Sunfresh Mandarin Oranges In Light Syrup, or similar item
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used vegetable)
1 TBS low-sodium soy sauce
1 TBS orange zest, finely grated, or to taste
2 tsp cornstarch

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add orange zest strips and cook, stirring, until fragrant and slightly cooked, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. When the zest is finished, increase heat to medium-high; add the chicken to the skillet and cook until golden, flipping once, about 2 minutes per side.

Drain the oranges and reserve 1/4 cup of liquid. Add the oranges with reserved liquid to skillet and simmer for 2 minutes.

Whisk together broth, soy sauce, finely grated zest and cornstarch in a small bowl; add mixture to pan and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes more.

Yields 1 piece of chicken and about 1/4 cup of sauce per serving. (5 points)

Lemon Chicken with Broccoli

Keeping kosher means that our grocery budget is a little higher than the average DINK couple (dual income no kids) because kosher meat tends to be really expensive. So when I found chicken cutlets on sale for $3.99 lb at the butcher, I stuffed our freezer full of them. Normally, boneless and skinless chicken breasts range from $5-$8 lb, depending on where you shop, so $3.99 is an absolute steal. In fact, I wish I had bought more!

I found this recipe hidden away in my Favorites file on my WW account, and I had forgotten I saved it months ago. It was pretty quick to throw together, although I had to add some cornstarch at the end in order to get the sauce to thicken. I just don't think the flour was enough on its own. The lemon flavor should be pretty pronounced, which I like, but silly me forgot to buy a lemon. I was convinced I had one leftover from my Perfect Party Cake, but someone must have used it during the party. Instead of lemon zest, I had to use my lemon extract because the juice itself wasn't strong enough. The extract gave it a good lemon taste, but not as fresh as zest. Next time!

Ingredients:
2 TBS all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp table salt, divided
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
12 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided (I used veggie broth)
2 tsp minced garlic
2 1/2 cups broccoli, small florets
2 tsp lemon zest, or more to taste
2 TBS parsley, fresh, chopped
1 TBS fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

On a plate, combine 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper; add chicken and turn to coat.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning as needed, until lightly browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes; remove to a plate.

Put 1 cup of broth and garlic in same skillet; bring to a boil over high heat, scrapping up browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Add broccoli; cover and cook 1 minute.

In a small cup, stir together remaining 1/2 cup of broth, 1/2 tablespoon of flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt; add to skillet and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cover and cook until broccoli is crisp-tender and sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in chicken and lemon zest; heat through.

Remove skillet from heat and stir in parsley and lemon juice; toss to coat. Yields about 1 cup per serving (3 points).

Chicken with Stewed Tomatoes and Artichokes

I'm back in the game, baby! Well, rather, my weekly meal planning is back on track. It makes my life so much easier. I just take some time on Sunday to pick out the weeks meals and then do my grocery shopping according to the recipes. This way, there is none of the "Ugh, it's 6PM. What the *&%^ are we making for dinner?" Although as I type this, I realize that I forgot to defrost the ground beef for tonights meatloaf, so this will be a pantry-raid night. Epic Fail.

Last night was a new recipe. I hit my kitchen groove and made my chicken dish, Crash Hot Potatoes, and another Lemon Rosemary French Yogurt Cake. I love that cake. It's so freakin' easy and delicious. Anyways, I digress...this post is about the chicken! This recipe (a WW one) is a good one. I made a few tweaks, but nothing major. Next time I do this, I won't cook the chicken for the full 25 minutes, because it was a tad dry, but overall I loved the flavor. I'm a big fan of artichoke hearts, so I added in a good amount. My changes are in italics.

Ingredients:

1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces, cut in half
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cups canned crushed tomatoes, with Italian herbs
28 oz canned artichoke hearts, without oil, drained and quartered
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp parsley, chopped (I didn't have)

Instructions:

Heat a large, nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over high heat. Brown chicken; remove and set aside.

Over medium heat, cook the onion until it's lightly browned. Add in the garlic and lemon zest, cook until fragrant. Return chicken to skillet and stir in tomatoes and artichokes. Cover partially and simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir together garlic, zest and parsley for topping. Sprinkle each piece of chicken with some garlic topping and serve. (I didn't do this because I didn't want the raw garlic on the chicken. I liked the way the lemon flavored all the sauce in the pan.)

Next time, I would do the parsley on top for a little color. I forgot to take a picture last night, so you get a picture of my lunch leftovers. Yum-o!

Sweet & Spicy Chicken

I adore Real Simple magazine. It's the only one that I have a subscription for and it always makes me smile when I get the latest one in our mailbox. They have great recipes, really creative household tips and very interesting articles. Usually, I tear out the recipes I want to try and stuff them in a folder, never to be seen again. But this one jumped out at me because I've been looking for a new way to do a basic roast chicken. My usual method is just olive oil, rosemary, thyme, with some "Poultry Seasoning", and it's delicious. But occasionally, I want to spice things up...know what I mean?

This recipe creates a paste-like spice rub that I coated the chicken with, and even worked some of it under the skin. I don't eat the skin, so I wanted to get the flavor directly onto the meat as well. Then I popped the chicken in the oven and it was perfectly done in 45 minutes. I served it with roasted grape tomatoes and broccoli. The recipe is a really flavorful way to do chicken. I will definitely try it again!

Ingredients:

1 TBS olive oil

1 TBS brown sugar

1 TBS chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt & pepper

1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces or a 3-4 lb roasting chicken

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400.

Rinse the chicken with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken in a roasting pan or large baking dish. Combine all the ingredients together to form a thick paste. Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken, making sure to get some of it underneath the skin on the breast.

Cook for 45-55 minutes, until a thermometer reads 165+ when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken (usually near a joint or the thigh). Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before serving it so that the juices redistribute.

Enjoy!

Chicken with Tomato Mint Salsa

Some people have asked me why I'm on WW since I don't really look like I need to lose weight. Here's the honest to blog truth - left to my own devices, I'm a terrible eater. I'll pick a heavy cheese-loaded carby something over a better-for-me healthy choice and I will eat way more than 1 serving. I never had a good sense of what a proper serving size was. It's not like I grew up in a house with poor eating habits. We actually were pretty healthy as a family! It's just that I got used to a higher metabolism throughout college. All through my early 20's I just ate what I wanted, when I wanted, with little to no consequence. Suddenly, I hit 28 and my body practically changed overnight. Nothing fit. Food and I developed a really bad relationship. I started looking at it as a comfort, like "Oh, I had a bad day. I deserve ice cream" or "I'm bored. I need a snack." Not exactly the healthiest way to see food. And this was hard because I really love to eat! Factor in the Lupron (endo medication) hormone deprivation and I was all out of sorts. So I turned to WW to learn how to have a better relationship with food. I wanted to fix this before it totally grew out of control.

Now, I really understand how to make healthy choices. I always knew that clearly, vegetables are better for me than Cheetos, but it was my mentality of "one time won't hurt" that got in the way because it turned into "all the time." I now know what a proper serving size is and I can stick to it. I can have that slice of pizza if I want it, but I won't have two, and I'll eat vegetables as a side dish instead of french fries. And I am much more confident in the kitchen. Before WW, it was like I was frozen with fear when it came to cooking. How much do I eat? How do I know it's good for me? Is it okay for me to have pasta? Am I going to feel too full after eating this? Now I have a whole arsenal of healthy recipes and I understand easy substitutes for cooking. It's not that I'm denying myself anything, I'm just making choices that are better for me and my health.

I'm still not 100% there yet. I will have days where the old mentality creeps back in and before I know it, I'm snacking on my old favorite trigger foods, without really thinking about what I'm doing, because, ya know, it's just "one time." A stomach-ache later, I regret it and beat myself up about it. Food and guilt don't mix, and that's a slippery slope I don't want to go down! This is a process and a lifestyle change, but it's worth it.

That's where this recipe comes in....

After 6.5 days of super-heavy Passover foods and matzah, I needed to get back on the healthy track. I just felt sluggish and out of sorts. If you just came off the 8-day matzah binge, you know what I mean! I had this recipe bookmarked from a while ago, and decided to give a whirl. It's good, with a few tweaks. I added a lot more mint than it originally calls for and a few more splashes of white wine vinegar. I also let the salsa sit for a while before serving to let the flavors meld.

I made some quinoa to go along with this, but only made enough for Alex to have. I wasn't really in the mood for it, for some reason. Usually I like it, but the smell seemed to put me off. Oh well! The chicken and salsa were really good on their own! However, don't make the mistake I did by putting in a whole onion. Way too much!

Ingredients
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 small jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded and minced (do not touch seeds with bare hands. I used a pair of gloves for this because I've learned this lesson the hard way.)
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 1/4 tsp table salt, or to taste, divided
1 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste, divided
1 tbsp mint leaves, fresh, chopped
1 spray cooking spray, lemon-flavor recommended (I've never seen this. Do they even make it?)
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
1/2 medium lemon, cut into 4 wedges

Instructions
To prepare salsa, in a small bowl, combine tomatoes, jalapeno, onion, vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper; sprinkle on mint and set aside.
Coat a large heavy-bottomed ridged grill pan with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat for 1 minute.
Sprinkle chicken with remaining teaspoon each of salt and pepper; place in a single layer on prepared pan. Cook until chicken turns white around edges, about 1 to 2 minutes; flip chicken and grill until chicken is cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes more.
Arrange chicken in overlapping slices on a serving plate; spoon on salsa and garnish with lemon wedges. Yields about 3 ounces of chicken and 1/2 cup of salsa per serving.

Magic Leftovers!

When is a roast chicken not a roast chicken? When it turns into chili! TA DAH! Okay, not one of my better jokes, but this new dish is a hit for me and Alex. I roasted a chicken last night and wanted to do something different with the leftovers, so of course, I asked my fellow What's Cooking nesties and they all recommend White Chicken Chili.

Now, in order to really appreciate how far I've come in my cooking, you have to know one thing. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I used to hate leftovers. With a passion. I know! Crazy, right? I didn't like when food sat in the fridge and got all congealed and yukky and then you would have to heat it up and eat it all over again. Gag. I just couldn't get over it. Besides, when I lived alone, cooking for one was simple. I poured myself a bowl of Chex and called it a meal.

However, when Alex and I moved in together, I discovered that he liked to eat. A lot. And often. Like more than 3 times a day and he liked big well-rounded meals that included a protein, vegetable and a starch. Suddenly, leftovers were a godsend. I could make pasta for dinner and then send it off with him for lunch the next day! We could save the leftover chicken and make chicken salad! Leftovers became a magical way to stretch our food budget and save my sanity.

Today, I embrace leftovers. Hence, this great new recipe. I also baked a non-dairy corn bread, which is fairly simple. Just use the recipe on the back of the corn meal container, but use soy milk instead of regular (oh, and applesauce instead of oil for us healthier folks).

Ingredients:
1 TBS canola oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 15 oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can navy beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups cooked and diced chicken meat
1 4 oz. can diced green chiles (we used chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, hence the darker, non-white color)
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
kosher salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)
4 sliced green onions (optional)

Instructions:

Heat oil over medium heat in a dutch oven or heavy saucepan. Add onion and garlic. Cook 2-3 minutes. Process one cup chicken broth and 1 can cannellini beans in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add to onion and garlic mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to medium-low. Simmer 20-30 minutes. Top with cheese and onions, if you want, and serve with corn bread.

Wok and Roll! General Tsao's Chicken

Who was General Tsao? Why did he love chicken so much? I'm not sure, but I do love this dish - all crispy and tangy with delicious chicken inside. There is a great Kosher Chinese restaurant near my job and I used to order it everytime I went. Until....Weight Watchers. Did this mean I had to give up my (and Alex's) favoritest dish? NOPE!!!!!

I was so excited to try this recipe and it did not disappoint. It was really easy and quick, as well. It took me about 25 minutes from start to finish, not including the 10 extra minutes I spent waiting for the rice to finish in the cooker. The chicken is still tender, and the sauce is tangy/sweet, with a slow heat that made my tongue tingle. It sounds dirty, but it's not...just yummy.

It's only 6 points per serving, too! Thanks General Tsao! I love you, man.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup canned chicken broth

1.5 TBS cornstarch

2 TBS sugar

2 TBS light soy sauce

1 TBS white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp peanut oil (I used vegetable)

2 scallions, chopped

2 medium garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (I used 1 whole tsp b/c Alex likes it spicy!)

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, uncooked, and cut into 2-inch cubes (I'm sure you could use dark meat if you wanted)

2 cups cooked rice

Instructions:

In medium bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger. Set aside.

Using a wok or medium sized skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add in scallions, garlic, and pepper flakes, cooking for about 2 minutes.

Add chicken, toss to coat with oil, and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.

Mix up the sauce again (it will have settled) and then pour it over the chicken. Simmer and allow to thicken while the chicken finishes cooking, about 3 minutes.

Serve sauce and chicken over the rice. Serving size is 1/2 cup rice and 1 cup chicken/sauce (6 delicious points)

The trend continues: Apple Braised Chicken

After I made this dish, I realized that I've been on a chicken & fruit kick. Heck, the picture even looks the same as the last one! I just love the way the sweet fruit caramelizes and blends with the savory chicken. This recipe (another WW one, 5 points) is a great fall one, utilizing crisp fall apples and a hint of ginger in the background. By simmering the chicken in apple cider and broth, it keeps it really moist (I hate that word, BTW) and flavorful. Alex gave this one an 8 out of 10, but I think I'll kick it up with a little more ginger next time for a deeper flavor profile. Wow, do I sound food-snobby or what?

::hair toss and big Giada-style grin...minus the cleavage::

Ingredients:

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, uncooked (about 4 breasts)

2 TBS all purpose flour

1 medium onion, sliced

2 crisp apples, cored and sliced

1 cup apple cider

1 cup fat free chicken broth (I used vegetable)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ginger

2 tsp cornstarch

Optional: rice, cous-cous or a nice warm challah slice. There is a lot of sauce that needs soppin' up!

Instructions:

In a heavy bottom skillet, warm oil over high heat. Toss chicken and flour in a medium bowl, and shake off excess. Place chicken in pan and brown well on both sides. Remove chicken to separate dish.

Reduce heat to low and add onion to the pan. Saute, stirring onion, until softened and lightly browned.

Add in apples, cider, broth, salt, ginger and chicken. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

Remove chicken, onions and apples to a serving dish. Mix 3 tsp of pan juices with cornstarch until it's all dissolved. Pour mixture back into pan, whisking constantly. Simmer for one minute, and then pour over chicken.

Serving yields 1 chicken breast and 3/4 cups apple/onion mixture (5 points)

Blog Rewind: Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Almonds

So I'm not quite up to cooking and baking just yet, but since this delicious dinner was made about a week ago, I am perfectly able to blog from my comfy spot on the couch. I'm fine, just healing after a small surgical procedure.

This dish was really fragrant and tasty, especially if you like Moroccan flavors like cinnamon, apricots, honey, etc, mixed with savory. The one change I would make next time is to cut the chicken up into smaller pieces. It's another Weight Watchers recipe, 7 points per serving. A little on the high side, but so worth it!

Ingredients:

4-5 oz dried apricots

1 cup fat free chicken broth (I used vegetable)

1 lb uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes (approx 1 inch)

1 tbs all-purpose flour

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 TBS honey

1/4 slivered almonds, or whole blanched almonds

1/8 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp salt (I rarely ever add this b/c Kosher meat in inherently salty)

2 cups cooked cous-cous, hot

Optional: Raisins or dates for cous-cous, but this will up the points value slightly.

Instructions:

Cook cous-cous according to box instructions. Add in optional raisins/dates.

In a small saucepan, bring broth and apricots to a simmer and then set aside.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Toss chicken with flour until evenly coated, and then cook until golden brown on each side - approx 5-7 minutes.
Stir in onion, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in cinnamon and honey.

Stir in apricots and broth and almonds, and season with S&P to taste. Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes until sauce thickens.

Serve over cous-cous. Yields 1/2 cup cous-cous, 3 oz of chicken and 1/4 cup sauce per serving.