Mmmmm... this is good. I got this recipe from a friend, who made this along with pork tenderloin with cocoa spice rub (post to come!!) for me and my husband for our anniversary (I'm not cheating here, as I did put it all together while we were at their house). The sweet with the hint of salt is just perfect! It makes 4 servings and is great for a special dinner, but it's easy enough for a weeknight winner.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/roasted-sweet-potatoes-with-honey-butter-recipe/index.html
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Skillet Arroz con Pollo
I know I'm VERY behind in posting... it's embarassing, really. But I'll just post and hope you'll all forgive me :)
Skillet Arroz con Pollo is a great summer dish that comes in at 373 calories for a 1-1/2 cup serving. This smelled amazing while it was cooking. I love when the aroma while you're cooking makes you so excited eat dinner. All in all, I'd make it again... and may even do so this week :)
RECIPE: (from Taste of Home Comfort Food diet Cookbook)
Yield: 4 servings
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium sweet red pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 garlic clove, minced
2 t olive oil
1 c uncooked long grain rice
1 can (14-1/2 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 c sherry or water
1/2 t grated lemon peel
1/4 t salt
2 c cubed cooked chicken breast
1 c frozen peas, thawed
1/4 c sliced ripe olives, drained (we hate olives, so I didn't use any)
2 T minced fresh cilantro
1. In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the onion, red pepper and garlic in oil for 1 minute. Add the rice; cook and stir for 4-5 minutes or until lightly browned.
2. Stir in the broth, sherry, lemon peel, salt and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
3. Stir in the chicken, peas and olives. Cover and simmer about 3-6 minutes longer or until rice is tender and chicken is heated through. Sprinkle with cilantro.
Skillet Arroz con Pollo is a great summer dish that comes in at 373 calories for a 1-1/2 cup serving. This smelled amazing while it was cooking. I love when the aroma while you're cooking makes you so excited eat dinner. All in all, I'd make it again... and may even do so this week :)
RECIPE: (from Taste of Home Comfort Food diet Cookbook)
Yield: 4 servings
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium sweet red pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 garlic clove, minced
2 t olive oil
1 c uncooked long grain rice
1 can (14-1/2 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 c sherry or water
1/2 t grated lemon peel
1/4 t salt
2 c cubed cooked chicken breast
1 c frozen peas, thawed
1/4 c sliced ripe olives, drained (we hate olives, so I didn't use any)
2 T minced fresh cilantro
1. In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the onion, red pepper and garlic in oil for 1 minute. Add the rice; cook and stir for 4-5 minutes or until lightly browned.
2. Stir in the broth, sherry, lemon peel, salt and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
3. Stir in the chicken, peas and olives. Cover and simmer about 3-6 minutes longer or until rice is tender and chicken is heated through. Sprinkle with cilantro.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
A Change of Eating Habits
Dear friends,
It's true. I'm on, what I affectionately call, "The Chicken Diet". I call it that simply because the protein I eat most often is chicken. Here's the good news for you: I'm still trying new things AND they'll be yummy and good for me (and you!). Just in time for spring and summer. So, let's try some stuff that's healthy and not boring! Here are some of the dishes I plan to try and blog about:
Springtime Barley (includes marjoram for flavor)
Rice with Summer Squash
Skillet Arroz con Pollo (there's cilantro and lemon peel)
Shrimp with Yellow Rice (turmeric!)
Lemon Mushroom Chicken
Also, I find that I'm getting kind of good at making up my own creations... who would have thunk it!
Finally, my new habits include no sugar, and no fat. So for about 6 weeks there won't be much in the way of desserts. However, the hard-core part of "the chicken diet" lasts only 6 weeks, and after that I'll be adding those things back in... slowly and occasionally.
So for now, let's be happy and healthy! Yay!
It's true. I'm on, what I affectionately call, "The Chicken Diet". I call it that simply because the protein I eat most often is chicken. Here's the good news for you: I'm still trying new things AND they'll be yummy and good for me (and you!). Just in time for spring and summer. So, let's try some stuff that's healthy and not boring! Here are some of the dishes I plan to try and blog about:
Springtime Barley (includes marjoram for flavor)
Rice with Summer Squash
Skillet Arroz con Pollo (there's cilantro and lemon peel)
Shrimp with Yellow Rice (turmeric!)
Lemon Mushroom Chicken
Also, I find that I'm getting kind of good at making up my own creations... who would have thunk it!
Finally, my new habits include no sugar, and no fat. So for about 6 weeks there won't be much in the way of desserts. However, the hard-core part of "the chicken diet" lasts only 6 weeks, and after that I'll be adding those things back in... slowly and occasionally.
So for now, let's be happy and healthy! Yay!
"Shrimp Dish"
I hate seafood. Basically the only way I'll eat it is if it's fried and covered in so much tartar sauce that you don't even know there's fish in your mouth. However, I can tolerate shrimp. NOT raw shrimp that involves preparation and touching it and smelling it - YUCK - but already cooked and frozen shrimp, tails off and deveined! Therefore, I can make this dish :) The "recipe" was given to me by my neighbor and friend, who, by her own admission, doesn't cook. (She recalls it from one of the morning shows on network TV and I don't remember which show or who the chef was, so if some exec from the channel it was on or the chef reads this, I'm sorry. Let me know and I'll give you all the credit in the world.) It's easy, it's yummy, and it's light and fresh and good for you! We call it "Shrimp Dish".
RECIPE:
1 lb shrimp, frozen, tails off, deveined
1 lb spaghetti (it's best with the good ol' fashioned kind, but use whole wheat if you're on a health kick)
1 pt cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (I like the cherry tomatoes better)
1 bag baby spinach (or a bunch of spinach with the stems cut off)
grated lemon peel of 1 lemon (or two if you like it extra lemony like we do)
2T olive oil
3-5 cloves minced garlic (we're all about garlic around here)
1.Make the spaghetti according to package directions. When you add the pasta to the boiling water, begin with the preparation of the rest of the recipe. If you fail to do this, you will be kicking yourself because the shrimp mixture takes almost exactly the same amount of time as the spaghetti does to cook.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sautee garlic in olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add shrimp and cook until heated through.
3. Add halved cherry or grape tomatoes and heat until the skins on the tomatoes begin to wrinkle (2-3 minutes?).
4. Tossing constantly (I like to do this over low heat or no heat), add spinach - spinach really shrinks when heated, so you'll think, "Oh man, I will only need like a quarter of this bag," but you really need the whole bag. NOTE: if you cook the spinach too long, your dish will taste like seaweed. Not really the outcome you're looking for.
5. Turn off heat, add lemon zest and stir until evenly mixed. Add pasta to sauce (which is what the chef said to do because the dish will retain the most flavor that way, but my skillet isn't big enough to do that, so into the big pasta pot it all goes!!).
6. Serve with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
This is a great, light, and fulfilling meal, and it's also great the next day. It's even good for you, so try it (even if you hate seafood).
RECIPE:
1 lb shrimp, frozen, tails off, deveined
1 lb spaghetti (it's best with the good ol' fashioned kind, but use whole wheat if you're on a health kick)
1 pt cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (I like the cherry tomatoes better)
1 bag baby spinach (or a bunch of spinach with the stems cut off)
grated lemon peel of 1 lemon (or two if you like it extra lemony like we do)
2T olive oil
3-5 cloves minced garlic (we're all about garlic around here)
1.Make the spaghetti according to package directions. When you add the pasta to the boiling water, begin with the preparation of the rest of the recipe. If you fail to do this, you will be kicking yourself because the shrimp mixture takes almost exactly the same amount of time as the spaghetti does to cook.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sautee garlic in olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add shrimp and cook until heated through.
3. Add halved cherry or grape tomatoes and heat until the skins on the tomatoes begin to wrinkle (2-3 minutes?).
4. Tossing constantly (I like to do this over low heat or no heat), add spinach - spinach really shrinks when heated, so you'll think, "Oh man, I will only need like a quarter of this bag," but you really need the whole bag. NOTE: if you cook the spinach too long, your dish will taste like seaweed. Not really the outcome you're looking for.
5. Turn off heat, add lemon zest and stir until evenly mixed. Add pasta to sauce (which is what the chef said to do because the dish will retain the most flavor that way, but my skillet isn't big enough to do that, so into the big pasta pot it all goes!!).
6. Serve with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
This is a great, light, and fulfilling meal, and it's also great the next day. It's even good for you, so try it (even if you hate seafood).
Friday, March 25, 2011
Alice Chicken
Despite the name, I didn't come up with this. My MIL sent me an email one day with a link to this recipe. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Alice-Chicken/Detail.asp
Have you ever used the broiler in your oven? I hadn't until this recipe, and if I had read all the way through the recipe before buying all the stuff to try it, I would probably still have no broiler experience :)
This recipe takes bacon, cheese, mushrooms and honey mustard dressing. When I was frying the bacon for the recipe, my husband walked through the kitchen looked around and said, "Whatever this is, I want some!" Can't beat the smell of frying bacon, I guess! And when he did have some, he LOVED it. We all did. Here it is served with asparagus sauteed with garlic... yum.
NEXT TIME:
1. Broiler is fine, but GRILL! That way I don't have to do the cooking :)
2. Make sure not to cook the bacon too crispy. Mine got a little too crispy due to child interruptions. Oh well!
3. Timing is everything: I'd be sure to saute the mushrooms and cook the bacon while the chicken is cooking. That way everything is hot when the chicken is done... once again, child interruptions!
4. I'd probably coat the mushrooms with the dressing leaving it a little runny like a sauce and heat it up a tad. Otherwise it's like you put salad dressing on your chicken. It tastes the same either way, but sometimes presentation is important.
Well, that's all I have to say about that... well, that and we'll definitely be making this again ;)
Have you ever used the broiler in your oven? I hadn't until this recipe, and if I had read all the way through the recipe before buying all the stuff to try it, I would probably still have no broiler experience :)
This recipe takes bacon, cheese, mushrooms and honey mustard dressing. When I was frying the bacon for the recipe, my husband walked through the kitchen looked around and said, "Whatever this is, I want some!" Can't beat the smell of frying bacon, I guess! And when he did have some, he LOVED it. We all did. Here it is served with asparagus sauteed with garlic... yum.
NEXT TIME:
1. Broiler is fine, but GRILL! That way I don't have to do the cooking :)
2. Make sure not to cook the bacon too crispy. Mine got a little too crispy due to child interruptions. Oh well!
3. Timing is everything: I'd be sure to saute the mushrooms and cook the bacon while the chicken is cooking. That way everything is hot when the chicken is done... once again, child interruptions!
4. I'd probably coat the mushrooms with the dressing leaving it a little runny like a sauce and heat it up a tad. Otherwise it's like you put salad dressing on your chicken. It tastes the same either way, but sometimes presentation is important.
Well, that's all I have to say about that... well, that and we'll definitely be making this again ;)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken with Biscuts
I swear, as soon as it warms up the slow-cooker recipes will be minimal! But as I was at Kid City (this store-front-turned-playspace) with my kids, I picked up March 2011s edition of Real Simple (I LOVE REAL SIMPLE!). And what should be on the cover other than the words "amazing slow cooker dinners"?! Truly amazing, in my mind. Here's why: Real Simple uses mostly fresh ingredients in their recipes. Barely any canned food (like cream-of-______ soup). That's one thing I hate about crock pot recipes, which is why I happily found this recipe in the magazine:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/slow-cooker-creamy-chicken-with-biscuits-00000000052389/index.html
(If this link doesn't work sometime in the future, let me know and I'll type out the recipe.)
This is a sophisticated chicken and biscuits you could feel good about serving to guests. I'd never used poultry seasoning before this recipe - man, that stuff is good! And the white wine - I used chardonnay. It makes all the difference, so don't skip it or just substitute more chicken stock. I didn't make the Easy Drop Biscuits since I had some I needed to use up or they were going to end up in the trash. This was truly easy and a great comfort food to feel less guilty about since there's no canned soup in it... now, about that heavy cream... ;)
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/slow-cooker-creamy-chicken-with-biscuits-00000000052389/index.html
(If this link doesn't work sometime in the future, let me know and I'll type out the recipe.)
This is a sophisticated chicken and biscuits you could feel good about serving to guests. I'd never used poultry seasoning before this recipe - man, that stuff is good! And the white wine - I used chardonnay. It makes all the difference, so don't skip it or just substitute more chicken stock. I didn't make the Easy Drop Biscuits since I had some I needed to use up or they were going to end up in the trash. This was truly easy and a great comfort food to feel less guilty about since there's no canned soup in it... now, about that heavy cream... ;)
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Easy Marble Brownies
I've said before that I make brownies however it tells me to on the box. Well, I experimented a bit and made brownies how it told me to on the inside of the Philadelphia cream cheese box :) It's easy, it's good and it makes looks like you put some effort into dessert! Nothing to change in this recipe, unless you want to try drizzling caramel over your finished product.
RECIPE
1 pkg (19-21 oz) brownie mix (13x9 inch pan size)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 c sugar
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Prepare brownie batter as directed on package; spread into greased 13x9 inch pan.
3. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Add sugar, egg and vanilla; mix well. Drop by tablespoonfuls over brownie batter; swirl with knife.
4. Bake 35-40 min or until cream cheese mixture is lightly browned. Cool completely befre cutting to serve. Keep refrigerated.
Note: For best results, do not use brownie mix with a syrup pouch.
RECIPE
1 pkg (19-21 oz) brownie mix (13x9 inch pan size)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 c sugar
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Prepare brownie batter as directed on package; spread into greased 13x9 inch pan.
3. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Add sugar, egg and vanilla; mix well. Drop by tablespoonfuls over brownie batter; swirl with knife.
4. Bake 35-40 min or until cream cheese mixture is lightly browned. Cool completely befre cutting to serve. Keep refrigerated.
Note: For best results, do not use brownie mix with a syrup pouch.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)