Baked Herbed Chicken & Brown Rice

Y'all know how I love baked dishes...those fix-it-and-forget-it meals. Well, this is certainly one of them. However, I found that with this recipe, either there are some ingredient tweaks I need to make next time, or I need to "forget it" while it's in the oven a whole lot longer than what the recipe calls for.

You can find this one at campbellskitchen.com (Herbed Chicken & Brown Rice), but since I had some issues with it, I will post my version of the recipe here:

You'll need...

• 1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 & 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking brown rice
• 1 & 1/4 lbs skinless chicken breast tenderloins
• paprika

Preheat oven to  400 degrees F.

Stir soup, water, thyme, pepper and rice in 2-qt baking dish. Place chicken on rice mixture and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake for 50-60 minutes (until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender).

The original recipe states to bake for 30 minutes. However, my rice was still runny at this point, and the chicken was not quite cooked through. Two suggestions...choose one: Either use less water (3/4 to 1 cup, but no more than 1 cup) or simply bake longer, as I did. Altogether, I baked this dish for 55 minutes.


And since Mark likes his veggies--particularly onions--I made him a little something extra: Dutch glazed onions (cooks.com; my modified recipe below).

• 1/2 medium onion, cut into wedges
• 3 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 tsp sugar

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in sugar and water until well blended. Add onions, cooking until mixture browns (10-12 minutes), stirring frequently.


A quick, delicious meal...and if there's just two of you, enough for tomorrow's lunch! ;-)

Quick Pepper Steak

Mark walked in the house from work, exclaiming, "Oooo! It smells good in here!" I felt like saying, "Welcome to No. 1 Chinese Restaurant," because our home smelled just like the Chinese buffet down the street. (You know, one of those places you go and your clothes, skin, and hair continue to smell that way for days...weeks, even...)

Fortunately, the smell didn't stick around past dinner, and the meal was super-delicious and super-easy, as well...as indicated in the title!

This recipe is from Campbell's Kitchen (campbellskitchen.com). My goal this week was to use the same ingredients in as many dishes as possible. When you have a lot of ginger, garlic, bell peppers, onions, and water chestnuts, the only thing that makes sense is a menu similar to the No. 1 Chinese Restaurant.

Monday was an Asian-inspired chicken bake and stir-fry, tonight is a pepper steak, and there's a beef and broccoli stir-fry in the works for Friday night.

I followed this recipe pretty much as it is, but I did stir in water chestnuts with the green and red bell peppers and onions. I didn't worry too much about measuring out the other ingredients; it's one of those "season to taste" kind of scenarios, in my opinion. I probably added a little less Worcestershire sauce and more garlic powder. I thought about grating some fresh ginger over the beef, but decided to let the veggies do the work of flavoring this dish.

Flavorful, filling, and definitely a restaurant-quality meal that is very quick and almost effortless. Why don't you prepare a quick pepper steak tonight?

Easy Asian Baked Chicken

This recipe is from AllRecipes.com (search for same name as title of this post). One really neat feature about this site is the way you can change the number of servings and they will calculate the ingredients based on that. Most of the meals I cook are usually for two, but sometimes I'll bump that up to four or six...especially if we want any leftovers!

I prepared this following the recipe as it is, although I did add red bell peppers as well as green.

For a side dish, I prepared noodles with broccoli and garlic. Here's what you'll need (for two servings) and how you can make it, too:

• spaghetti (2 servings, as per pkg)
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1 clove garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce

Cook spaghetti and broccoli separately. Remove both spaghetti and broccoli from heat 1-2 minutes before it is ready. Drain and add spaghetti back to pot and place back on the stove, reducing heat to medium. Drain broccoli and add to spaghetti. Stir in soy sauce and garlic. Continue to stir for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

You can pour some of the soy sauce mixture from the baked chicken over the noodles for more flavor. A very easy and yummy meal. Enjoy!

Rosemary Chicken & Mushroom Pasta

This recipe is straight from CampbellsKitchen.com. A very quick and easy meal to prepare, this one should be on your menu for dinner this week. With the weather getting cooler, a warm pasta dinner is not only filling, but comforting, as well.

The recipe online serves six. You can definitely scale it down to accommodate two to four. I followed the recipe exactly as is, using the ingredients called for (no substituting, adding, or eliminating this time). I did use linguine (as opposed to spaghetti), and decided not to use a whole-grain pasta for this dish. But you certainly can choose to do either or both of those options.

Rosemary is the ingredient that makes this dish pop. I've always liked rosemary with chicken. It adds not only a comforting flavor, but a comforting aroma.

Easy because the short list of ingredients are most likely already in your kitchen; quick because it's ready in half an hour, from start to finish. This dish is one you'll definitely make several times. Not only does it look good, it tastes deeee-lish.

My First Risotto

The title of this post is misleading; although this was indeed my first attempt at risotto, it certainly was not the highlight of the dish. This one was all about BACON. I pulled this one from Food Network's website, but made several changes to accommodate what I had in the kitchen. Basically, I made it fit my taste.

The original recipe is "Crispy Bacon-Wrapped Chicken with Three Cheese Creamy Risotto and Arugula Fennel Salad." Well, I nixed the salad altogether. And instead of goat cheese, mascarpone, and Parmesan cheeses for the risotto, I used a shredded blend of Italian cheeses. (It fits my tastes better--not a big fan of tangy goat cheese--plus this way saved some dollars!) There were also several ingredients I did not add (both to the chicken as well as the risotto), so I'll publish my recipe here. Of course, if you want the original, you can find it (as listed above) at foodnetwork.com.

There was also a sauce for this dish, which I may not make in the future, as I cannot tell that it significantly added to the dish.

Also, these ingredients have been scaled down for two servings.

Sauce

• 1/2 bottle red wine
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp basil (or you can use a small bunch of fresh basil)
• 1 dry bay leaf
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp butter
• salt & pepper

In a medium saucepot, bring wine and garlic to a simmer over medium heat. Add basil and bay leaf. Continue to simmer until liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Add chicken stock and continue to simmer until reduced by half. Strain into another saucepot and stir in butter. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Chicken

• 2 boneless chicken breasts
• 8 slices of bacon
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Lay 4 slices of bacon on a cutting board, slightly overlapping. Place chicken breast on top of bacon and bring slices up around the chicken in order to cover entire breast. (I had one larger breast, so I actually used an extra strip of bacon in order to cover it. Hey, it's bacon...the more, the merrier!) Repeat with other chicken breast and bacon strips.

In a large oven-proof skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Once skillet is hot, carefully add bacon-wrapped chicken and cook until bacon is crispy on both sides (about 7 minutes per side). Transfer pan to oven and bake until chicken is cooked through (about 15-18 minutes).

Creamy Cheese Risotto

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 2/3 cup Arborio rice (the best kind of rice to use when making risotto--it says so on the package!)
• 1/4 cup white wine
• chicken stock (at least 2 cups, but you may not use it all)
• 1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese
• 2 tsp basil
• 1/2 Tbsp butter
• salt & pepper

Heat olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add garlic until it browns. Add rice and stir well; cook for 1 minute. Add wine and stir well. (And stirring is the key...) Stir until wine is almost completely absorbed then add in some chicken stock until rice is just covered and stir again. You will continue this: add chicken stock, stir, add chicken stock, stir...until the rice is cooked through (it took about 12 minutes).

When rice is cooked, add cheese and basil and stir. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Season with salt and pepper. You should have a creamy, cheesy rice mixture. (As you'll see from the picture, mine was not so very creamy, but it was certainly delicious for my first attempt at risotto!)

Bacon & Garlic Sauteed Spinach
This is not included in the original recipe, but I wanted to top my risotto and chicken with something other than the arugula fennel salad.

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 slices bacon
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 large handfuls of fresh, washed spinach (or one bag/package of fresh spinach)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper

Chop bacon into small pieces. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Stir in bacon and garlic. Add spinach and stir. (It may look like too much for the pan, but it will wilt quickly.) Add olive oil and continue to stir frequently, for about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Now, finally, you can plate everything! Risotto on the bottom, followed by bacon-wrapped chicken, topped with the spinach. Remember that sauce you made? Spoon it over the spinach and let it fall onto everything beneath it. Who's hungry? ;-)

This is definitely a restaurant-quality meal. Which reminds me...you'll also be left with a restaurant-quality mess in the kitchen waiting for you to clean! But this one's worth it. Trust me.

"Cheap Week" Part 2

Actually, this is more like "Cheap Night" as opposed to the entire week. Even though I did the entire week on a budget, tonight's meal is the most economical.

A quick beef stir-fry; here's what you'll need:

• 2 cups of cooked brown rice
• 1-lb sirloin, cut into small pieces or strips
• mixed veggies for stir-fry (I used Walmart's Great Value brand)
• soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp ginger
• toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add beef. Stir in ginger (use fresh, grated ginger root or powder), and brown beef. Add veggies--at least a cup, but more or less as you choose. Add soy sauce, about 2-3 tablespoons, but again, this is a preference thing; if you like that salty, soy sauce flavor, add a little more...if not, add less. Stir to mix well, then cover for about 3-5 minutes to lock in some flavor. Add toasted sesame seeds when done. Serve with rice. Serves two.

Bacon Makes Everything Better!

Y'all know how much I love [read quite sarcastically] whole grain pastas. So it's ironic that I found this recipe on the back of a whole grain pasta box (Ronzoni brand)...as I was about to toss it into the recycling bin. The word BACON caught my eye and I figured I'd give whole grain pasta one more try. 'Cause everyone knows a little bacon will make anything taste better!

I mean, let's face it, folks...bacon really does make everything better. Period. Have a headache? Slap some bacon on your noggin! Flower garden not up to par this year? Fertilize it with bacon! Jam your big toe walking around the bed in the middle of the night? Wrap it up with a piece of bacon! (If it doesn't feel better soon, you'll probably end up eating it right off, anyways...)

My favorite thing about cooking with bacon is that you don't even need to oil or grease the pan; just put that bacon in a hot pan and it makes its own grease! (Amazing, I know.) But what excites me even more than that is thinking about the next ingredient I'm going to put in that pan that will soak up all that delicious bacon grease...wowsers.

But let's get back to tonight's dish, shall we?

The recipe is for whole grain linguine tossed with a bacon, onion, and sage sauce and baby spinach. And spinach--to me--is only good prepared a certain way: cooked in a buttery garlic sauce. (Mmmmm, yummy.) So this dish already had two strikes--non-buttery-garlic-sauce spinach and whole grain linguine.

But wait...here comes bacon!

I can honestly say I enjoyed this dish...and solely because of the bacon. Yes, maybe most of my spinach did end up on Mark's plate, but I was able to deal with the whole graininess of the linguine. (Besides, he likes veggies more than me, so it's definitely a win-win.)

Ah, bacon. I hear it crackling in its own grease over a hot stove, and as its aroma fills the air, reaching my nostrils, I think, This is what Heaven must smell like!

[Linguine with Bacon, Baby Spinach and Sage can be found at ronzonihealthyharvest.com]

More Veggies, Please!

I realized I had been skimming on the veggies over the last few meals, and I know how much Mark loves veggies, so I decided to make up for it tonight with a very "vegetable-y" stir-fry. It was quick and easy to make (as any stir-fry is), and is less than 500 calories (I calculated 436 calories per serving). Of course, depending on what meat you use--I used beef, but you could definitely use chicken, pork, or scallops/shrimp...or use no meat and have simply a veggie stir-fry--you can certainly end up with much less calories.

That's kind of the beauty of a stir-fry...the ingredients are your own. So what are you in the mood for?

Clearly, I was in the mood for la vaca (the cow), but that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. And although I was not in the mood for veggies, Mark was, so I sliced up several for him. (And, yes, I included extra mushrooms just for me.)

To boost the flavor, I added some chopped garlic and grated fresh ginger into the meat and veggies...mmmmmmm. I served it with brown rice and sprinkled toasted sesame seeds over everything. If it's not your thing, you can skip the sesame seeds; no need to walk around all night with one or two stuck in your teeth, right?

Overall, stir-fry recipes are easy. Since I usually like to use, well, whatever I like, you can do the same thing, too. Feel free to substitute anything, from protein to veggies to oil or butter...you have complete stir-fry freedom. Below is my recipe for this particular veggie-packed stir-fry, but have fun creating your own!

• 8-10 oz top sirloin (lean)
• 4 white button mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 red bell pepper (sliced)
• 1 carrot ("matchstick" sliced)
• 1 cup broccoli 
• 1 cup cauliflower
• soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp peanut oil
• 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
• fresh ginger root
• toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add top sirloin, and garlic. Grate in fresh ginger, about 2-3 teaspoons. Stir frequently for about 3 minutes (may cook a minute or two longer depending on the protein you're using). Remove from pan. Cover with tin foil and sit aside.

Stir in mushrooms, red bell pepper, carrot, broccoli, and cauliflower to skillet. Generously douse veggies with soy sauce (about 3 tablespoons), stir. Increase heat a notch or two. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Return sirloin (or any protein) to pan, stir, cover and cook 45-60 seconds. Remove from heat.

Add a little more soy sauce (if you really love that flavor) and sprinkle toasted sesame seeds over stir-fry. (If you have regular sesame seeds--not toasted--add them to skillet when you add your veggies; this will cook them up a bit for that nuttier, toasted flavor.)

This recipe serves two.

Dinner for Two...In a Hurry!

A pan-seared sirloin with red wine sauce over a bed of rice for two, coming right up! This meal will take roughly twenty-five minutes to prepare and cook; basically, it will take as long as it takes the rice to cook. So start there, then prepare everything else while the rice cooks. Minus the usual suspects--salt and pepper and olive oil--this meal features only FIVE ingredients; not only is it quick, but pretty easy, as well.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 lb top sirloin (trim the fat!)
• 1/2 c rice (white, brown, or any long-grain medley)
• 1 & 1/2 c beef broth
• 1/2 c red wine
• about 2 tsp chopped rosemary

Let's start with the rice; add one-half cup rice and 1 cup beef broth into a pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, cover and let sit for 20-25 minutes or until broth has been absorbed. (Remember: Rice will cook faster if you keep it tightly covered; the more you remove the lid, the longer it will take. Just be patient, young Jedi...fight the urge to lift the lid and stir, you must.)

Liberally coat a pan with olive oil over medium-high heat. Now take your sirloin and divide evenly into two separate steaks; season both sides with salt and pepper and add to pan when hot. Add rosemary to pan, on and around each steak. Cook on each side about 3-4 minutes for medium rare. (I did cook mine a little longer for a medium temperature.) Remove from pan and cover with tin foil to keep warm. Turn up heat a few notches and add wine to deglaze the pan. (Use a wooden spoon/spatula to scrape up those bits of beef stuck to the bottom of the pan.) Add the remaining 1/2 cup of beef broth. Let boil and reduce to about half. Remove from heat and let sit.

Take rested steaks and slice against grain. Serve over the rice. Generously spoon pan sauce over the steaks. Now you're ready to serve!

This meal can be prepared for less than 500 calories, although mine was about 550...I decided to help myself to some extra rice. (wink)

Fun With Fennel

This is only my second time cooking with fennel, but after seeing it as a recurring theme in several cooking shows this week, I thought it must be a sign...I should cook more with fennel. So after brainstorming a bit, I came up with a fairly quick and easy recipe for pan-seared chicken with fennel and roasted tomatoes.

I wasn't sure how much Mark would enjoy fennel, so I made sure I had something he'd really love (roasted tomatoes) on stand-by, just in case. He'd only had fennel once before, and it was raw in a salad. I don't recall him complaining about it, so I figured he would be okay if I sauteed some up to serve with the chicken. (He usually doesn't complain much anyways...)

Fennel smells very licoricey (if that's even a word) but tastes slightly less licoricey when cooked. The fennel tops (which look like fronds of a tropical plant), to me, still retain a strong licorice taste regardless of being cooked or not.

So here's the ingredients and recipe if you decide to do this one in your kitchen:

• 1 lb boneless chicken breasts (or breast tenderloins)
• 1 fennel bulb, sliced (chop and keep tops for later use)
• 12 grape tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken broth
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt
• crushed black pepper

Chicken & Fennel
Pour generous amount of olive oil into two skillets, enough to coat bottom, and put on medium-high heat. When pans are hot, add chicken to one (salt and pepper top side) and sliced fennel to the other. Cook chicken for 4 minutes on each side (or 1-2 minutes longer if using large boneless breasts). Stir fennel occasionally until golden brown then add chicken broth; cook for about 2 more minutes. Add fennel with chicken broth into the skillet with chicken; let cook for about 2 more minutes. Add a few of the fennel tops to the skillet during these last 2 minutes.

Tomatoes
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice 12 grape tomatoes into halves (top and bottom). Place on a greased baking sheet. Douse with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Cook in oven for about 5 minutes.

Before going into the oven

As you plate your meal, scoop out the chicken with some of the fennel (there will probably be some broth that hasn't cooked out, as well) then add several tomatoes around and on top of the chicken and fennel. You can even take some of the left over fennel tops and garnish the plate; place a few tomato halves on the garnish for a nice, finished look.

As an additional side, I also cooked some whole-grain pasta and sprinkled it with shredded mozzarella cheese (mmmmm...my favorite!). Feel free to add any side you like, but you can just leave it as is and serve the chicken, fennel, and tomatoes as one main dish.

The recipe above can serve four people, but we did bump up our servings a bit, and still had some left over...so we managed about three servings altogether. My final product, as I served it (with the pasta), was 505 calories.

By the way, Mark did enjoy the fennel; he said it had a different, but very good flavor. So get your fennel fix on today...and I'm sure I'll be cooking with it again!

Beef Tips w/Red Wine Sauce

This was one of my own creations tonight; I decided to toss the recipes out the door and see what I could do. Honestly, after tasting it, I realized there are definitely things I need to tweak, but that's the beauty of cooking. Rarely do I ever get a dish perfect (or, let's be honest, even close) on my first try. I'll make them again and again, knowing what to add or what not to add, and how much of any ingredient I should use. But it was a pretty tasty dinner, regardless, and for only 423 calories (served with rice), it tasted even better!

Here are tonight's ingredients, with my recipe following:

• 8 oz top sirloin (lean, cut into small pieces)
• 1 medium garlic clove, chopped
• 1/2 tbsp butter
• beef broth (about 1/2 cup)
• red wine (about 1/2 cup, I used a Shiraz)
• fresh parsley, dried
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Season beef tips with salt and pepper. Coat a large skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add garlic and beef tips. Cook for a total of 6 minutes, turning the beef tips after 3 minutes, or stirring occasionally; remove from skillet with slotted spoon. Turn heat to high and add about a half-cup of red wine to deglaze the pan, then add about a half-cup of beef broth. Reduce by half. Add beef tips back into skillet and stir for about 1 minute, then add 1/2 tbsp of butter and stir until melted. Serve beef tips with a side of your choice (I chose long-grain brown and red rice cooked in beef broth) and spoon red wine sauce over beef (and side item(s), if you prefer). Serves two.

Chop fresh parsley and sprinkle over beef tips, and use it also as a plate garnish. I used dried parsley and broke it up into smaller pieces, but chopped parsley would look a little neater.

And remember, when cooking with wine, be sure to pour a couple of glasses to enjoy with your dinner!

Low-Cal Chicken Stir-Fry

I have made a chicken stir-fry before (courtesy of campbellskitchen.com), but tonight I deviated from their recipe and added my own touch for a low-calorie, yet high-flavor, Asian dinner.

I love "Americanized" Japanese food--hibachi steak, fish, chicken, veggies...pretty much anything cooked on that flat-top grill can't be beat. Add to that all the sauces and spices: honey and ginger and soy; sweet, sour, nutty, zippy, and tangy...your tastebuds explode (in a good way) amid all the flavors.

Although I prefer beef, I chose the calorie friendly chicken for this recipe, which will make four servings. (I'm starting to discover that tonight's dinner makes a great tomorrow's lunch!) You'll need the following ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless chicken breasts (cut into small cubes)
• 1 tsp crushed ginger
• 1 tsp garlic powder (or use 1 medium clove of minced garlic)
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (for a touch of heat)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 2 cups broccoli
• 8 oz thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta
• 2 tbsp toasted almond slivers (optional)

Begin cooking pasta for about 9-11 minutes (usually depends on brand; don't over cook). And instead of boiling broccoli separately, add it to the pasta about 3-4 minutes before it's done. Spray a large skillet with cooking oil (I like to use an olive oil spray) and cook chicken over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes. Stir in soy sauce then add ginger, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Stir over medium-high heat for another minute or so, then toss in sesame seeds a few seconds before removing from heat. Drain pasta (and broccoli). Serve chicken over pasta and broccoli, and top with toasted almonds, if you prefer.

Another option--and I usually do this, but did not tonight--is to add 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce to the pasta noodles once you have drained them. Stir soy sauce into noodles well, then serve with chicken. Very flavorful, but will add a few more calories (although it's quite minimal).

A quick, tasty, Asian stir-fry dinner...all for 350 calories per serving!

Lemon Garlic Tilapia

This is a dish I've made previously, but tonight I served it with a couple of different sides. This is also a recipe that I learned from...last time, I decided that there was way too much lemon juice involved, so I was able to correct that on my second go 'round. The recipe is from allrecipes.com. You'll see it's a baked dish, which normally qualifies it for a FIAFI meal. However, you can only "forget it" for about 15 minutes, as you'll need to begin preparing your sides to serve along with it.

Tonight I served a veggie medley (corn, carrots, green beans, and peas) and a small-portion side of whole-grain linguine. I used frozen veggies--something I don't usually do, but it's definitely cheaper than buying the ingredients separately, and I can only use 1-2 servings as needed. And I'm not a fan of whole-grain pastas, but I'm learning to appreciate them a little more; they are a good 30-40 calories less per serving than regular pastas. (However, I did add a fraction of those calories back by sprinkling about a teaspoon of grated Parmesan cheese on the linguine.)

This was a quick and easy dish to make, and I also had a little fun with the presentation. It's a 243 calorie meal, but you can make it less than 150 calories by not serving the pasta.

Chicken? Again?!

After all that ranting and raving over beef, you think I'd never go back to chicken or fish. But woman cannot survive on cow alone. Wait...that's not right...

I guess I'm just holding out...waiting for a special occasion, maybe; I don't think I'm ready to deplete my freezer full of top sirloin too quickly. Therefore, I have to throw in a chicken dish here and there. Maybe even pasta from time to time, but pasta's not a significant low-calorie dish. There's always fish, but I feel like I should have gills by now, as much as I've eaten in the last three weeks.

I also had this handy-dandy recipe in my inbox, sent from campbellskitchen.com, for Herb Baked Chicken. It was very good--and easy to make, since it's one of those FIAFI ("fix-it-and-forget-it"...a term I usually reserve for anything baked, slow-cookers, and rice cookers/steamers) meals. Of course, anytime you're using soup, you're going to forfeit the "low" in low-calories. You can make up for about 50 of those calories, though, by substituting brown rice for white rice. (I used a long-grain brown and red rice blend we recently picked up from Costco.) I also used chicken breast tenderloins, but you can use boneless chicken breasts, and even cut those into tenderloin-sized pieces. I'm not usually a fan of bone-in anything...unless it's a rib-eye or T-bone steak.

(There we go back to the beef again!)

In this recipe you can use either thyme or rosemary. I chose to use rosemary; I think it adds a ton of flavor to any meat, but especially to chicken. Prep time for this dish is about five minutes, and you'll bake it for a total of one hour. (Stop halfway between to spoon in the soup as noted in the recipe.) The rice choice made for an interesting mix of colors, and for just over 300 calories, this was a deeeelish chicken dish!

Where's the Beef?

My apologies for the significant gap between my previous post and this one. I can explain: You see, this low-calorie diet started off pretty well, but then I began to realize I was basically playing it safe by finding different ways to flavor tilapia and chicken. Sure, I had some salmon (you know, mix it up a bit) and a couple of low-calorie fast food meals (now there's an oxymoron), but there was definitely something missing... Beef.

Now, I love a cow as much as some eastern religions do, but for entirely different reasons. I always thought it'd be nice to raise cattle. Not only is it a lifestyle (I'd finally get to be a real cowgirl), but it's a profitable market. Then I realized I'd probably just eat all my profits, so maybe it's not such a good idea after all.

And are you familiar with Kobe beef? No, not the west-coast beef that wears a purple and yellow jersey and dunks a basketball... I'm talking about the cows that are grass/natural grain fed (even given beer in the UK) and have their back-sides massaged for a more tender, flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth marbled meat. (OK, who else is imagining one of those Chick-fil-A cows in a pair of fuzzy slippers and plush robes at a day spa?)

[Excuse me just a moment...I need to grab a paper towel to wipe off the keyboard. I may have been salivating as I typed.]

So, you can see, there's a serious void that needs filling in my diet. And tonight I decided to take care of that; I found a low-calorie beef teriyaki recipe at allrecipes.com (one of my favorite recipe sites). This recipe was perfect for two reasons:

1) Just look at it. It looks so darn good...all 259 calories of it! (See all that beef in there?)

2) Because it was so low-calorie, I had room for dessert.

Hey...I ALWAYS save room for dessert!

"Hibachi" Tilapia & Asparagus

Well, today is my first official day of dieting. Mark is on a low-calorie diet to lose a few pounds, and (sadly) he talked me into it, as well. Actually, it was totally my choice, but we mulled it over and I decided, why not...I could lose a few pounds, too. I've been trying really hard to gain weight for so long, but with football season over and my more inactive lifestyle taking over, I have noticed some "collection" (if you will) of chunkiness in some not-so-desirable areas on my body. By losing a few pounds, I can be more lean...and have the "aesthetic muscle tone" that you'd expect to see on a personal fitness trainer.

Having made this decision, this cooking blog is about to take a turn in the "low calorie recipes" direction. But know that I am still a sucker for red meat and carbohydrates (and must still consume a good portion of both protein and carbs to maintain energy and to build muscle), so I work extra hard during the day to burn calories just so I can consume them at dinnertime!

(And, yes, I run an extra 60 minutes at least one day every two weeks in order to make a trip to Coldstone for a delightful ice cream treat. In a waffle bowl. And there's usually a good amount of cookie dough in there somewhere, too.)

Tonight's menu is easy: fish and a veggie. We had some fresh tilapia leftover from last week that we froze, so all we needed to pick up was a bunch of fresh asparagus. I added some salt, crushed black pepper, and ginger and garlic to the fish, then pan-seared the tilapia fillets on medium-high heat (four minutes on one side, 2-3 minutes on other). I did the same for the asparagus to achieve a hibachi-style flavor and texture; however, I skipped the salt and added one tablespoon of soy sauce to the pan.

The result was quite fabulous...and delicious. And all less than 200 calories. I think I'm going to like this diet thing. ;-)

Low Calorie Dinner

Both of us were just getting back home from Fourth of July weekend in NC, and tonight is the only night I'm cooking at home this week. So I wanted something quick. Cheap. And easy. Baked ziti fit the criteria well, but Mark has decided (as I was just informed) to go on a low-calorie diet to get back down to a "target" weight. (My "target weight" is anything greater than 135 and less than 160... What?! I like big targets; they're easier to hit!) He suggested chicken or fish--no heavy carbs--so baked ziti was a no-go.

I am not easily daunted by sudden challenges, but I knew this one was going to be tough, as I have never cooked for a specific diet before. (Not to mention I love, love, LOVE carbs.) So to the computer I went, and quickly found several low-calorie/low-carb recipes. Most recipes were chicken and fish (and vegetables...but man cannot survive on veggies alone), but I did find a handful of beef recipes that were in the 260-300 calories per serving range.

I decided to prepare a recipe I found on allrecipes.com called "Normal Chicken." Sounds kind of boring, I know, but with only three ingredients (chicken breasts, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce)--and 185 calories per serving--this recipe was more "simple" than normal. I did add a fourth ingredient--brown sugar--and the final meal was a far cry from normal. I would definitely put this dish in my Top Five All-Time Favorite Dinner Dishes. (That's an unofficial list I should actually consider maintaining. Maybe I'll refresh it every month or two, and see what meals get bumped out of the top five and which new meals make an appearance there for the first time. Even better, an award would be in order for the meal that maintains a top-five status the longest. Hmmmm...)

This is a baked dish, too, so it's one of those fix-it-and-forget-it type (FIAFI) dinners...my favorite! I prepared the rest of the meal in a rice cooker/steamer (white rice and steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots), so tally up another FIAFI for the chef!

With the rice, this meal was less than 500 calories; only chicken and veggies is about 250 calories. Not too shabby for a low-calorie/low-carb dinner. And who'd have thought diets could be so darn deeee-lish?

Winner, Winner! Chicken (Pan-Seared with White Wine Sauce) Dinner!

I'm always looking for tasty chicken recipes...basically because it's quick (usually) and cheap. But chicken can get, well, boring. So I needed a fun chicken dish. After several unsuccessful searches, I hit the jackpot. It was a rather unusual, non-cooking site, but the recipe and attached photo were too eye-catching (and tummy-grabbing) to pass by.

I found it on www.kennesawpatch.com, a hub of local news, weather, and goings-on in the town of Kennesaw, GA. (Which is located just north-northwest of Atlanta; if you're still interested in Kennesaw, check them out at www.kennesaw-ga.gov. Maybe I'll give them a visit in the future!) But I digress...

The recipe, submitted by Aaron Sewell, is for the chicken as well as a stuffed potato; I only made the chicken, though, as I had two sides already in mind (sweet corn and green beans).

It's a colorful plate, and I even dressed up the green beans by adding some garlic powder as they cooked, topping them off with slivered almonds.
 

Usually when I'm in the kitchen, I'll pour a glass of red wine to sip on while I prepare dinner. Tonight, however, since the recipe called for a white wine sauce, I opened a Chardonnay that Mark and I brought back from our Napa Valley honeymoon. (A half-cup for the recipe, and a half-cup for me!) It was a 2009 Regusci, and a perfect addition to the dish. Not only was its aroma appealing, but it made every savory bite of chicken even more flavorful.

Mmmmmm...now that's a winner!

Mongolian Beef

One of my favorite restaurants is P.F. Chang's. And my favorite menu item is Mongolian Beef. So you can imagine my joy the day I stumbled across Sun-Bird brand's Mongolian Beef Mix in the grocery store. I was browsing the Asian Food section to check the price on rice wine vinegar, but instead found a little yellow packet that made my mouth water. For 72 cents (and $6.03 for a pound of flank steak and $1.00 for a bunch of green onions), I was on my way to another delicious budget meal!

In a matter of five steps and about 35 minutes (prep and cook time) you will have a tasty P.F. Chang-quality dinner for two for less than the price of one of their appetizers! I will say the prep work was a bit time consuming because I chose to very thinly slice the steaks; in other words, one 1/2-inch steak became two 1/4-inch steaks, then I continued slicing them into one-bite pieces from there. (If you've ever had P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef, you know what I'm talking about!)

The taste was comparable, although Sun-Bird's mix packed more heat. (Keep your beverage glass full...it felt like my mouth was on fire!) I made a side of brown rice to serve with the beef, and you can see from the picture below one dish looks more "soupy"...that's because I like to pour the rice in and let it soak up the seasoning, too!

JP's Spicy Chicken Quesadillas

For those of you who know me, you know I do not do "spicy." So I am still not really sure why I decided to coat the chicken with chili powder, paprika, and crushed red pepper. (Yikes...I know...) It actually was quite delicious, although I paid for it with hours of discomfort after the meal. Next time, I'll leave my chicken pieces "naked" and only spice up Mark's!

All in all, this was a relatively quick and inexpensive recipe. I only used one chicken breast (to serve two), but it was a plump one. Here's what you'll need and how you can do it:

• 1 large chicken breast
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon thyme
• dash of black pepper
• pinch of crushed red pepper (or more, depending on how "hot" you like it)
• salt

Butterfly chicken breast, then cut into thin, long strips. Place in a shallow dish (and add a dash or two of salt).

In a small bowl, mix all remaining ingredients. Sprinkle liberally over strips of chicken, then dredge chicken into spice mixture to coat evenly.

Place chicken in a large skillet (I used an olive oil cooking spray to coat the skillet) over medium heat. Cook for about five minutes or until cooked through. (It won't take long...be sure not to overcook the chicken. You want it HOT, but you don't want it DRY!) Remove from heat; place chicken strips on a plate and reserve for quesadillas.

  For the quesadillas:

• 4 medium flour tortillas
• 1 red bell pepper (chopped)
• 1 medium white onion (chopped)
• 2 cups of any Mexican blend or "fiesta" blend shredded cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter

In an open tortilla, sprinkle a handful of cheese (about 1/2 cup), and chopped bell peppers and onions to taste. (Don't go overboard with the veggies...you'll end up with an overwhelming flavor.) Add 4-5 strips of cooked chicken. Fold tortilla in half. Do this for a total of four tortillas.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large pan over medium heat. Place two of the folded tortillas in the pan, taking care not to spill the insides into the pan first! Carefully flip after four minutes; remove after 2 more minutes. (The second side almost always takes half the time to cook...be careful not to burn the tortillas. You may even find it necessary to decrease the heat ever so slightly.) Repeat for next two tortillas.

Serve with an ice cold cerveza or your favorite beverage for a spicy and deeee-lish dinner!

PS - You'll notice in the picture below that one plate contains the chicken and quesadillas separately. What can I say...I'm a little weird in that I just don't like my chicken in my cheese! Kind of like how I order a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit without the cheese. Call me special. ;-)

Dinner For One

Since Mark was out of town for a few days--and I didn't want to survive on fast food for dinner every night...or worse...cereal--I decided to use what I had in the pantry to create a quick and healthy dinner. (Well, more healthy than fast food!)

I had a box of Butter & Herb Rice-a-Roni, so that was definitely going to serve at least as a side dish, and I had just bought some chicken breasts, so I knew I was going to also have chicken with my rice. Now the dilemma: Serve them together as one dish or separately?

I chose the latter, and instead of having one large chicken breast, I cut it up into several smaller pieces...nugget-size, if you will.

Here's how you can make the chicken: Pour about a cup of Italian bread crumbs into a Zip-loc bad, and after dipping the chicken pieces in egg, shake them up in the bag to cover them with the bread crumbs. Melt 1-2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and cook the nuggets over medium heat for about 7-8 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet; reduce heat to low.

For a tasty, creamy sauce to bump up the flavor, combine and whisk 1/2-cup milk, 1 tablespoon butter, and 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese into skillet (be careful not to pour too fast; the milk will bubble and burn). Let sauce thicken then pour over chicken. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

"Cheap Week" Part I

Welcome to "Cheap Week," where the meals are still delicious, but they won't break the bank! Not that any of my meals put a hurtin' on the pennies, but every now and then you do have to tighten your grip on the wallet and suck it up at the grocery store. And that's what we did this week...budget meals.

C'mon, you know you've been there: mac 'n' cheese a couple nights a week; toast and grits, eggs and bacon...for dinner; cereal with milk (maybe two bowls if you're really hungry); heck, some of us have relived ole college days and brought back the RAMEN NOODLES.

Well, here's a couple of good, old fashioned dinners that are substantial, yummy, and--best of all--CHEAP!

#1 - Spaghetti
I would be okay having any kind of Italian dish two or three nights a week. They're easy to prepare, relatively inexpensive, and bursting with flavors! And you can't go wrong with spaghetti. Make it with simple marinara or a meaty sauce. I usually add a pinch more of garlic and/or oregano to the sauce as I'm heating it, just to bump up the flavor. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (and some shredded mozzarella for an even better touch) and top it off with some fresh parsley to make a "plain" dish great!

#2 - Beef Tips & Noodles
All you'll need for this is medium (or wide) egg noodles and beef tips; and I like to use the Hormel beef tips--they're already prepared and packaged (with no yucky preservatives). Just follow the microwave instructions, spoon beef tips out over your cooked egg noodles, and voila!--a deliciously cheap meal in 10 minutes! (And there's usually enough for leftovers!) For an added bonus, use a slotted spoon to remove the beef tips from the microwave package once cooked; pour au jus from package into a pan over medium heat and slowly add a cornstarch-water mixture, stirring frequently. Once the mixture bubbles and thickens, remove from heat and stir into beef tips and noodles.

PS - I'm labeling this post as "Part I" because I can assure you there will be subsequent parts to follow!

Dinner With Mom & Dad

Well, Mom & Dad are in town for a few days, so--naturally--I have to whip up something special in the kitchen. Mom isn't much of a fish eater, but you just can't go wrong with tilapia. It's special in that's it is a relatively "bland" tasting fish...but it takes on the flavor of what you serve it with. Just a dash or pinch of a spice or two, or any special seasoning, goes a long way with flavoring tilapia, transitioning it from an ordinary fish to a flavor-packed dish. Not to mention it is a very INEXPENSIVE fish to buy fresh! I like to buy mine from Whole Foods to cook it the same day, but otherwise I find good deals at Costco then divide it up and freeze it for later use.

On tonight's menu we have Rachael Ray's "slaw salad," and the main course is Brown Butter-Sauteed Tilapia with Pistachios from FoodNetwork.com. They are both super-easy dishes to create, and I like that they combine so many different flavors...it's a guaranteed party in your mouth!

The slaw salad features red cabbage and fennel (the bulb has a licorice taste) tossed in an equal-part honey-vinegar dressing with grill seasoning (yup...grill seasoning), poppy seeds, and toasted sesame seeds. (The toasting of the sesame seeds is important. If you don't buy them already toasted, be sure to do so before stirring them into the dressing; it adds a more nutty flavor.) The fern-like foliage, or top, of the fennel bulb is edible, so chop and add that along with the actual bulb and red cabbage. Save some of the fennel tops, too, to use in your final presentation of the dishes.

While my dinner "guests" ate their slaw salads, I was busy in the kitchen putting on a show preparing the main course. Tilapia is so quick and easy to cook, and the total time to prepare (prep and cook) was about 15 minutes. Now I have to mention, we have a pantry full of "North Carolina Pecans" straight from the pecan tree in Mom & Dad's back yard. So instead of buying pistachios (which can sometimes be a bit expensive), I decided to crush some pecans and roast them in some melted butter to serve in place of the pistachios. It was a delicious substitute, if I do say so myself!

You can see I used some of the reserved fennel tops to garnish each plate, and added a thinly-sliced lemon on top of each tilapia fillet. Serve it with a side of wild rice and you have a restaurant-quality meal in less than 30 minutes! And a four-serving dinner for roughly the price of one equivalent serving at any local restaurant. So if you're looking for something quick, easy, and deeee-lish, make it tilapia tonight!

Italian Chicken & Veggies Night

My original dinner for tonight was Chicken & Pasta Primavera...however, someone (okay, okay...guilty) forgot to pick up one of the ingredients from the grocery store, so I decided to whip up my own creation instead.

I still used the veggies I had purchased (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots) to make Seasoned Vegetables Italiano (www.campbellskitchen.com): Add veggies to chicken broth in a saucepan, throw in a little garlic powder and any Italian seasoning, bring to a boil, then let simmer on low for about five minutes.

For the chicken, I sliced up two boneless chicken breasts. Rather than having two whole breasts, I like to slice it up...helps it cook quicker, plus it's a little different. (And more surface area for seasoning!) Speaking of seasoning, I tossed the chicken in my own "Italian Seasoning" concoction. Here's how you can do it: In a large Zip-loc bag, mix about 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp ground thyme, about 2 tsp olive oil, and garlic salt and crushed black pepper. Add the chicken pieces to the bag, mix it all up, pour into preheated skillet (w/olive oil, a turn of the pan), and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes.

I sprinkled the veggies with Parmesan cheese, and served with the chicken and some Italian herb-flavored Rice-A-Roni...the San Francisco treat! (Rice-A-Roni's always a quickly prepared, not to mention easy and yummy, side dish.)

It's a perfect Italian flavor-inspired dinner for two!

EASY Chicken Tortellini

Even if I made the three-cheese tortellini from scratch, this recipe would still be easy! Four ingredients: two chicken breasts (cubed); cheese tortellini; broccoli; creamy alfredo sauce. This meal is ready in 20 minutes or less, depending on prep time. And that's not even the best part...it tastes GREAT! (Recipe found at www.cooks.com.) I must say, this is by far the easiest meal I have prepared. So if you're looking for a deeee-lish meal that quick and easy, this is the one!

Chicken and Sweet Tea

I found this "Famous Butter Chicken" recipe at www.allrecipes.com. (And I had to share it with my sister...it's so incredibly easy! She has two kids and one on the way, so anything that's a "fix-and-forget" meal works well for her.) It takes about 5-10 minutes to prepare, then you just pop it in the oven to bake for 40-45 minutes. Not to mention it only requires a handful of ingredients. Here it is, quick and easy: beat an egg (or two) in a bowl and dip chicken breast into it; dredge chicken in bowl of crushed Ritz crackers (with garlic salt and pepper stirred in); place in baking dish; add pieces of butter all around chicken in dish; bake at 375° for 40-45 minutes. 

I served it with green beans (with a touch of garlic and drizzled with olive oil) and sweet corn. Mashed potatoes would be a good side, too. Make it a real Southern treat and serve it with a sweet potato! Of course, don't forget the SWEET iced tea. Mmm-mmm-mmm...deeee-lish!

London Broil...and Veggies for Mark

My first experience with London Broil was at Easter. It turned out okay, so I said, "Why not...I'll give it another shot." I found several recipes online of rubs and marinades for London Broil. I ended up making my own, more or less, by combining a few key ingredients: chili powder, paprika, oregano, thyme, and S&P (salt & pepper...I'll use that abbreviation a lot). I tuned down the chili powder...I cannot handle spiciness the way some folks I know can. (And next time, I think I may add a little brown (or white) sugar...just a pinch.)

Now, London Broil doesn't refer to the cut of meat. I used a large top sirloin cut, but a flank steak is preferred. And you can grill, pan sear, or actually broil your beef. I chose to broil this one. After rubbing the steak and letting it sit for about 15-20 minutes, I popped it in the oven (set to broil) for about 7-8 minutes on each side (for a medium well center).

Veggies included Dutch-glazed onions (a very sweet treat!) and maple-glazed baby carrots with toasted pecans. These recipes were obtained through www.cooks.com and www.kraftrecipes.com, respectively. Now, I should disclose that I am NOT a vegetable eater...I am a strict carnivore who loves to carb-load, too. But veggies tend to cramp my style. However, I do eat them from time to time...the few that I like. But I did not eat any tonight. (I know, shame, shame. Don't judge me! Remember...I am unorthodox.)

I did prepare some beef broth-simmered rice (and you must know I could survive off of rice if there was no meat in this world), and we both enjoyed a tasty, deeee-lish dinner at home.

P.S. Here's a little question for everyone... How do YOU say "pecan"? Is it peh-KAHN or PEE-can? (Y'all know I'm from the south...I say PEEcan!)

Honey-Ginger Chicken

This is one of my favorites. I think this recipe came from www.cooks.com. (I've seen tons of different ways to prepare this, but I think I liked a recipe I saw on their site best.) The key is to have everything right ready to go into the wok or skillet. If you take too much time preparing any ingredient in between, you risk burning what's already cooking. (Maybe with another year or two of experience I'll be able to multi-task better, though, and prepare ingredients QUICKLY while I cook. Maybe.) This was my second time preparing honey-ginger chicken. Previously, I served it over brown rice; looking to do something different, this time I served this over a bed of spaghetti noodles doused with soy sauce. I've also decided to add a tad more honey next go 'round. Mmmmmm...who needs a Hibachi Express... Deeee-lish!

Pizza Night

Mark and I have enjoyed a fun day in Toledo. And a fun day in Toledo always includes Chick-fil-A. (Our favorite fast food spot...too bad we have to drive 45 minutes to find one!) So we don't splurge too much in one day, we decide to fix a pizza at home with all homemade ingredients. It was pretty adventurous. Mark pounded and kneaded away at the dough.

After the dough sat for about 40 minutes, I punched it down and rolled it out. Now here's where the "Unorthodox" comes in... I didn't have a rolling pin to roll out the dough (and Mark--bless his heart--searched high and low for the one he thought he might have), so I used the next best thing: an aluminum water bottle. Hey, it worked. For the most part. Once I rolled the dough out to about 10" in diameter, I proceeded to toss the dough...my first dough-tossing experience. Ever. (I'll definitely be doing it again!)

Toppings added (you'll see only cheese for me; onions, green/red peppers, and tomatoes for Mark) and 20 minutes later, we have our first ever, made-together, homemade pizza. Yeah, it's not beautiful...but it was deeee-lish!