Aline's Chicken with Capers

A delicious quick to make recipe from my good friend, Aline.

The nutrition facts can be found at Calorie Count.

Aline's Chicken with Capers

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast halves (nutrition facts are based on 6 oz breasts), boneless, skinless, and either thin sliced or pounded thin
1/4 t black pepper
3 T all-purpose flour
2 T butter
3/4 C chicken stock, preferably low sodium
1/4 C fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 T capers, drained (more if you love capers!)
3 T minced flat leaf parsley (optional)

Directions:

If you did not get thin sliced chicken breasts, place each breast between sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet to an even thinness. Combine the black pepper and flour on a plate and lightly coat each breast.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken to the pan and cook about 3 minutes on each side. Add broth, juice, and capers; reduce heat to medium and simmer about five minutes, basting the chicken every now and then with the sauce. When the chicken is done, remove to a serving late and cover with foil to keep warm.

Bring the sauce to a boil and cook another 2-5 minutes or til it thickens. Serve over the chicken.

Remember, the calories assume that all the flour and sauce is consumed, this is unlikely. If you use smaller breasts this will also reduce the calories so pay attention to how much each breast weighs. This recipe does not need added salt, the stock provides just the right amount!

Chicken Breast

Savory Baked Chicken

A delicious recipe from crazypotato98!

I was having a busy week and wanted to do something super quick (to prepare) and easy (meaning let it cook in an oven or crock pot without me having to mess with it). This recipe fitted the bill. Delicious, just sprinkle the stuff on top and put it in the oven while you take care of other business (such as, piano practice, painting, exercising, quality time with family, or watching Star Trek reruns on Youtube). Then just take it out and eat it. :-)

The nutrition facts for this recipe can be found at Calorie Count, the best place free web site for counting calories!

Savory baked chicken

 
Ingredients:

2 1/2 to 3-lb frying chicken, cut up
3 tbsp margarine, melted
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp tarragon leaves
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

Heat oven to 325 F. Place chicken pieces in 13x9 inch pan. Combine margarine and lemon juice; pour over chicken. Sprinkle with salt, tarragon, paprika and pepper. Cover with foil. Bake at 325 F for 45 minutes. Uncover; bake another 15 minutes or until tender.

From The Pillsbury Cookbook.
 

Chicken Breast

Mediterranean Shrimp Packets

Mediterranean Shrimp Packets

Nutrition facts are available on Calorie Count. 

Ingredients: (Makes 4 servings)

8 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 C couscous, quick-cooking

1 C water, boiling

2 zucchini, sliced

1 green pepper

9 oz artichoke hearts

¼ tsp black pepper, coarsely ground

1/8 tsp salt

4 oz Italian light dressing

2 bunches spinach

Directions:

1. Rinse shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Lay out four pieces of foil or parchment. Combine couscous and boiling water; cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Divide couscous, shrimp, squash, sweet pepper, artichokes and shrimp evenly among the four pieces of foil. Sprinkle with black pepper and salt, and drizzle with salad dressing.
   

2. Wrap each packet carefully to enclose the food and place in a single layer on a baking pan.

3. Bake at 425 F about 25 minutes or until shrimp turn opaque.

A Great Way to Start the Day!

Have always loved eggs and when all those 1970's studies showed that they were not so good for us I was upset - no more incredible edible eggs. Over and out with those studies as the new ones show that the egg is awesome and I have happily added them back to my menu. I love making the following egg veggie scramble a couple times a week. At only 193 calories, there's plenty of calorie room to make it a complete meal by adding a slice of toast or a whole wheat muffin with a teaspoon of your favorite jam. Come on get out the pan, you know you want some...

Here are the nutrition facts as analyzed on Calorie Count.

Egg Veggie Scramble - serves one

Ingredients:

1 t extra virgin olive oil (I use habanero olive oil)
1/4 C chopped onion
1/4 C chopped sweet red pepper
1 C fresh spinach, torn
1/4 t turmeric
2 eggs, beaten in a bowl

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a non stick pan over medium heat and saute the sweet red pepper and onion until they begin to brown.

Sprinkle with turmeric and stir.

Tear the spinach leaves and add to the pan. Saute until wilted (just a minute or so). 

Whisk eggs with fork til light and foamy and add to pan. Stir til cooked.

Extra Notes:

A wonderful variation for this meal is to place some of the egg inside a whole wheat tortilla (it won't all fit so just eat the rest with a fork), top with a little salsa (even more veggies!), and roll it all up burrito style!

If you don't have habanero olive oil, you could add diced jalapeno to the mix for a great flavor kick.

The turmeric not only takes the eggs and onions to an even prettier deep yellow, but the pungent spice has anti-inflammatory properties as well. If you have arthritis like I do, give it a try.

Janice's Potato Carrot Soup

Potatoes are sometimes given a bad rap by people trying to lose weight, but this is mainly because of how we are accustomed to eating them - drenched with butter, fried in heavy oil, or layered with lots of cheese and cream sauces. When prepared with a little more creativity, they can be a low calorie, filling, and very nutritious vegetable. After giving the following recipe a try, get a good potato cookbook like The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Potato for more ideas on how to enjoy potatoes and lose weight.

This is a fast easy to make, low calorie, very tasty soup! Only 186 calories per generous serving! Nutrition facts for this recipe are available on Calorie Count.

Potato Carrot Soup - Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups diced red potatoes
1 cup diced onion
1 cup sliced celery
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
3 t chopped fresh garlic
1 T extra virgin olive oil
4 cups Vegetable Stock
12 oz can Evaporated Milk

1 1/2 t thyme
1 t paprika
2 T fresh chopped parsley (or more!)
cracked black pepper to taste
Tabasco to taste

Directions:

In a large pot over medium heat, saute the onion, celery and carrot in olive oil til veges are softened a bit. Add the garlic and saute for another two minutes.

Add potato, vegetable stock - preferably low sodium, and seasonings.

Simmer covered until veges are cooked, taste and adjust seasonings. Add the evaporated milk. The link to the nutrition facts assumes regular evaporated milk, so remember to reduce the calorie count if you use the fat free version.

Adjust the seasoning to your taste and serve.

Extra Notes:

Mash a few of the potatoes with a fork or potato masher as this gives the soup a nice thickness while keeping its rustic chunky character which makes the soup so satisfying.

I need to watch salt, so I don't add it to most foods. That means that I need to ramp up the other spices - and it's one reason I add Tabasco Sauce to the dish. There's a little salt in the Tabasco, but not as much as there would be if I used regular salted stock. If you don't need to cut salt, then just use regular salted stock if you prefer.

If you like your soup extra thick, either add more potatoes or make a roux to add at the end to thicken the soup. If your day can do the calories, add some cheese, bacon bits, or better still some nice home made croutons before serving. I like this soup served with a toasted sandwich of provolone, thin slices of tomato, basil, and a little olive oil - assemble the sandwich and toast open face in a toaster oven. Yum!