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Mediterranean Chicken

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Once again cooking from the Lifetime show “Cook Yourself Thin” cookbook my roommate and I made Mediterranean Chicken.   We only made the chicken and tomato portion, and skipped the salsa verde (which I took out of the recipe below).   If you are interested in the whole recipe with the salsa verde you can go to http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/cook-yourself-thin/recipes/mediterranean-chicken. I marinated the chicken in the morning before work so then when we got home from work we just threw it on the George Forman (I need a grill pan but I am still a college kid at heart).  The tomato side was also very easy to put together.   We used grape tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes because they were cheaper.  

Mediterranean Chicken

Serves 4
Calories per serving: 370

Ingredients:
For the chicken
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, washed and quartered
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 branches fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied

For the side of tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, whole
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Splash of balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. To marinate the chicken: In a large plastic sealable bag, squeeze the juice from the lemon and add the lemon itself. Add all the remaining ingredients, seal carefully, and massage the marinade into the chicken. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or even overnight.

2. To make the salsa verde: Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside until serving. Refrigerate if made earlier in the day, and remove an hour or so before serving.

3. To cook the chicken: Lightly spray a stovetop cast iron griddle with oil and heat over medium-high heat until smoking.

4. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat off excess marinade. Place the chicken on the griddle and cook about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Turn the chicken and cook 2 more minutes, until cooked through.

5. To make the tomatoes: Heat the oil in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and tomatoes and a splash of balsamic vinegar, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, until the tomatoes are warmed through. Crush lightly with a wooden spoon and serve.

Enjoy

-K

Lemony Green Beans

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I made these green beans the other day but didn’t have time to post about them.  This is a recipe that is from Cooking Light Magazine and goes with a recipes for Fresh Tomato, Sausage, and Pecorino Pasta.   It instantly became one of my favorite recipes for green beans and I cook them about every week. 

Lemony Green Beans:

Steam 1 pound trimmed green beans 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Drain and rise with cold water; drain and place in a bowl.  Add 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind, I tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 ½ teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper, toss well.

 Sorry no pictures,  they basically look like green beans with lemon zest on them. :)

Enjoy!

-K

Chicken and Bean Burritos With Pineapple Salsa

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Tonight my roommate and I were back in the cooking mood (the heat is finally fixed!), after grocery for the week we started to make a new recipe. She got a new cookbook for Christmas and wanted to cook from it all this week.  So every night this week we will be cooking from the “Cook Yourself Thin” cookbook from the Lifetime television show “Cook Yourself Thin”.  Tonight we made Chicken and Bean Burritos with Pineapple Salsa, and although it took a while, it was delicious!  I cannot wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  The recipe calls for flour tortillas, but we bought low carb tortillas that were only 90 calories with 10 grams of fiber. So if you are concerned about your calorie intake I would shop around for the healthiest tortilla. 

Chicken and Bean Burritos With Pineapple Salsa

 Serves 4

Calories per serving, chicken and bean burritos: 436

Calories per serving, pineapple salsa: 28

 For the chicken and bean burritos

1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained, if frozen

1 15 1/2-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon minced fresh jalapeño (optional)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3/4 pound bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts

3 peppercorns

1 carrot, sliced

1 bay leaf

3 medium tomatoes (2 quartered, 1 diced)

1 white onion, quartered

6 garlic cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

4 medium flour tortillas

1/4 cup shredded low-fat cheddar

1/4 cup shredded iceberg lettuce

 For the pineapple salsa

1 cup ripe pineapple, chopped

1/4 cup red onions, chopped

1/4 cup roasted red bell pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

 (We started with #2 first b/c it takes about 30 minutes)

1. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the corn and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add beans, cilantro, lime, jalapeño, salt and cayenne, and stir until well mixed; set aside. 

2. Put the chicken, peppercorns, carrot, bay leaf and 3 of the garlic cloves in a large saucepan, and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, and then simmer over medium heat until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly in the broth. Remove the chicken from the broth, and remove the skin and bones. Shred the chicken into small pieces, and return the meat to the broth.

 3. Put the quartered tomatoes, onion and garlic in a blender and blend until smooth. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tomato mixture and cook, stirring until thickened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shredded chicken to the tomato mixture. Stir until well mixed.

 4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Warm the tortillas, one at a time, until pliable, about 1 minute. Divide the cheese, lettuce, diced tomato, bean mixture and chicken with its sauce among the tortillas, spreading the ingredients in a line down the center. Fold in the top and bottom, and then roll in the sides. Serve immediately.

 5. To make the pineapple salsa: Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Set aside.

 Enjoy!

 -K

Sweet Potato French Fries

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Sorry everyone for not posting in so long, My heat is finally fixed and it is now full blast in my apartment for a hot and uncomfortable 97.8 degrees (not really but that’s what it feels like to me).   What have I been making lately? Lean cuisines and leftovers because that is about as long as I can stay in my kitchen without passing out from the heat.   Yesterday my roommate and I decided to make some Sweet Potato French Fries despite the heat. They were as always… delicious.  I don’t really follow a recipe for these but I let you in on how the awesomeness is made.

Sweet Potato French Fries

Ingredients

3-5 sweet potatoes

Olive Oil cooking spray

Salt

Pepper

Ketchup (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.   Wash the sweet potatoes and cut the ends off.   Then cut the sweet potatoes into wedges (we keep the skin on).  You can make them as thick as you want; we made ours closer to steak fries thick.   Place the cut up potatoes on a baking sheet and spray liberally with olive oil spray.  You want to make sure both sides are coated, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper to your liking.  Cook them for about 20-30 minutes until done, turned them over with a spatula occasionally.  Serve with ketchup or whatever you want to put on your fries.

Enjoy!

-K

Peanutty Noodles

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Tonight I made Peanutty Noodles from the Cooking Light: Complete Cookbook.   This recipe is linguine with veggies and Thai peanut sauce.  It is really easy to make and it makes 10 servings so you can have it for a bunch of meals.  Also this dish can be served warm, room temperature,  or chilled and it still taste awesome.  If you ever need a dish to bring  somewhere this dish is extremely easy to travel with.  Just make it the night before and put it in a plastic container and bring it with you the next day.  I made the Peanutty Noodles for one of my co-workers birthday last year and she loved it. 

Peanutty Noodles

Prep Time:  20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

1 pound uncooked linguine

2 carrots, peeled

1 tablespoon canola oil, divided

2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup fat-free, less sodium chicken broth

½ cup natural-style peanut butter (such as Smucker’s)

¼ cup low sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons rice or white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee)

¼ teaspoon salt

Cooking Spray

2 cups red bell pepper strips

1 pound snow peas, trimmed

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

  1.  Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.  Drain.
  2. Shave carrots lengthwise into thin strips using a vegetable peeler, and set aside.
  3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add ginger and minced garlic, sauté 30 seconds.  Add chicken broth and next 5 ingredients; stir until well blended.  Reduce heat,  and simmer 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and keep warm.
  4. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Add bell-peppers and snow peas; sauté 5 minutes or until tender.  Remove from heat.  Combine carrot, peanut butter mixture, bell pepper mixture, and linguine in a large bowl, and toss well.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Sprinkle with cilantro, if desired.  Yield: 10 serving (Serving size; 1 cup). 

Calories: 296, fat 8.8 g, protein 11.7g, carb 43.1 g, fiber 3.4g, chol 1 mg, iron 3.6 g, sodium 400mg, calc 44mg

Enjoy!

-K

Two-Bean Soup with Kale

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with Cheese- Tomato  Toasts

After such a cold weekend,  I decided to make a hot soup for dinner tonight.   I have made this recipe several times before and it has always been good.   It’s called Two-Bean Soup with Kale from the October 2009 edition of  Cooking Light ,  I also made Cheese-Tomato Toast to go with the soup like the magazine tells you.   It was well worth my trip to two different grocery store to find kale (Is there a kale shortage I don’t know about?)

Two-Bean Soup with Kale

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups)

Ingredients

3  tablespoons  olive oil

1  cup  chopped onion

1/2  cup  chopped carrot

1/2  cup  chopped celery

1/2  teaspoon  salt, divided

2  garlic cloves, minced

4  cups  organic vegetable broth divided

7  cups  stemmed, chopped kale (about 1 bunch)

2  (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added cannellini beans, rinsed, drained, and divided

1  (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

1  tablespoon  red wine vinegar

1  teaspoon  chopped fresh rosemary

Preparation

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, carrot, and celery, and sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in 3 cups vegetable broth and kale. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until kale is crisp-tender.

 

 

 

2. Place half of cannellini beans and remaining 1 cup vegetable broth in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Add pureed bean mixture, remaining cannellini beans, black beans, and pepper to soup. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, vinegar, and rosemary. 

Nutritional Information

Calories:250 ; Fat:10.4g (sat 1.4g,mono 5.5g,poly 2.2g) ; Protein:11.8g; Carbohydrate:30.5g; Fiber:9.2g; Cholesterol:0.0mg Iron:3.8mg; Sodium:593mg;Calcium:189mg

 For the Cheese-Tomato Toast: Broil slices of ciabatta bread for 1 minute (I used multi-grain French bread b/c my grocery store is stupid and doesn’t have ciabatta bread).  Turn bread over; top each slice with 2 thin plum tomato slices and 1 tablespoon shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (I used Pecorino Romano b/c I like it better),  Broil 2 minutes or until cheese melts.  Serve with soup.

Enjoy!

-K

Hummus and Toasted Pita Chips

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This past weekend we hosted some college friends that were visiting Boston.  I also made a small road trip yesterday our to Chicopee, MA to pick up some letterpress supplies for my new press.  When I got home, my husband was entertaining the crew sans snacks.  I also was starving as I only had a small breakfast.  I decided to whip together my favorite last minute recipe.  It’s also a great recipe as I tend to have all of these ingredients on hand.

Ingredients:
-1 can chickpeas with liquid (omit some liquid if you prefer your hummus less watery)
-3/4 tsp kosher salt
-2-4 garlic cloves
-1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste…you can find this in the international aisle in the Middle East or Greek section)
-6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
-8 dashes Tabasco sauce
-1  or 2 package pitas
-olive oil
-salt & pepper
-seasoning: you could use rosemary, italian seasonings, or any other similar type of spice mix

Peel the garlic and through in the food processor until chopped thoroughly.  Place the chickpeas, kosher salt, tahini, lemon juice, and Tabasco sauce in the food processor and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed.  Taste for seasoning and serve chilled at room temperature.  I also like to drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the hummus before serving.

Set the oven to 400 degrees F.  Chop the pitas up in small triangles and put on 1 or 2 baking sheets.  Pour a few tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and brush the oil over the pitas.  Season the pitas with a bit of salt, pepper, and any additional seasoning you desire.  Put the baking sheets in the oven and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping the pitas over halfway through the cooking time.  Take out of the oven once the edges start turning a golden brown.

If you have any extra vegetables on hand such as carrots or bell peppers, these also make great items to dip into the hummus.

-M

I heart Hungry Girl

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I discovered Hungry Girl about six months ago while in the cookbook section of B&N.  The author, Lisa Lillien, had two cookbooks, a website, and a daily email blast.  Hungry girl’s main concept is to take commonly craved fatty and high calorie foods and make them in healthy low calorie ways.  She also has tons of other light and yummy recipes.  If you are like me and love food, then you have to try her cookbooks or sign up for her emails at www.hungry-girl.com.  If you have ever got a random text, e-mail, or phone call from me declaring it was some national food day,  I got it from the Hungry Girl email.   My favorite is National Pancake day!

Last night for dinner I made the Crunchy Sassy Chinese Slaw from the Hungry Girl: 200 under 200 (there is also the same recipe with chicken called Scoopable Chinese Chicken Salad

Link for recipe:

http://www.hungry-girl.com/week/weeklydetails.php?isid=1490 for the Crunchy Sassy Chinese Slaw recipe, to make the Scoopable Chinese Chicken Salad add 12 oz of chopped lean chicken breast instead of the almonds.

Cookbooks:

Hungry Girl- Recipe and Survival Strategies

Hungry Girl- 200 under 200

Recipe Cards:

Hungry Girl- Chew the Right Thing

(sorry no pictures, I was far to hungry when I was done)

Enjoy!

-K

Bok!

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I forgot to share with you guys my oops shopping mistake this week.   Last night when I was making the Seoul-ful Chicken I realized that I bought boned skinless chicken thighs, when I really needed boneless skinless.  I have only even bought boneless skinless breast and whole chickens.  (*On a funny note, I have been trying to get over my fear of cooking whole chickens.  The first time I tried to cook one, I was so freaked out by the organs inside (which were not in a bag like some are).  I was screaming on top of my lungs the whole time, shaking the chicken upside-down over the sink, screaming louder each time an organ fell out.  My roommate ran into the kitchen thinking that I was getting murdered (I have a really high pitch scream) when really I was just shaking a chicken over the sink.  Let’s just say I have gotten a lot better with that.  I cooked a beer can chicken on vacation a month ago with minimal screaming and cringing.)  Okay back to the main story, I haven’t even bought chicken thighs before so I had no idea how to debone them.  I looked it up online and it actually pretty easy.  Buying boned chicken is a lot cheaper too so this can be a way to save money.  Here is the website I used:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5108466_debone-chicken-thigh.html.

 Good luck, and watch out for your fingers!

-K

Seoul-ful Chicken with Minted Cucumbers

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Tonight I wanted to make something really different from what I usually make.  I chose a recipe called Seoul-ful Chicken with Minted Cucumbers, from my new Cooking Light cookbook “Cooking Light Way to Cook.”  It was a bit labor intensive but it was really delicious in the end (okay my roommate did most of the work, b/c I didn’t feel well, but I watched and supervised).  The recipe makes 4 serving so we each are packing it for lunch tomorrow.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Cucumbers:

1  English cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced (about 2 1/2 cups)

1/4  teaspoon  salt

1/4  cup  minced shallots

2  tablespoons  chopped fresh mint

1  tablespoon  seasoned rice vinegar

1  tablespoon  honey

1  teaspoon  dark sesame oil

1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper

1  serrano chile, seeded and minced

Chicken:

8  skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 1 1/4 pounds)

1/4  cup  soy sauce

2  tablespoons  dark sesame oil

1  tablespoon  minced peeled fresh ginger

1  tablespoon  honey

1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

3  garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Cooking spray

1/4  cup  thinly sliced green onions

4  teaspoons  sesame seeds, toasted

Directions:

1. To prepare cucumbers, place cucumber slices in a colander; sprinkle with salt, tossing well. Drain 1 hour. Place cucumber slices on several layers of paper towels; cover with additional paper towels. Let stand 5 minutes, pressing down occasionally. Combine cucumber, shallots, and next 6 ingredients (through chile) in a large bowl; toss gently. Cover and set aside.

2. To prepare chicken, place each chicken thigh between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Combine soy sauce and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to soy sauce mixture in bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning bag occasionally.

3. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Place 4 thighs in pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure with remaining 4 thighs. Place 2 thighs and 1/2 cup cucumbers on each of 4 plates; sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon green onions and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds.

Nutritional Information- Calories:262 (31% from fat); Fat:8.9g (sat 1.9g,mono 3g,poly 2.8g); Protein:29.9g; Carbohydrate:14.9g; Fiber:1.5g; Cholesterol:115mg; Iron:2.7mg; Sodium:502mg; Calcium:40mg

Enjoy!

-K

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