A healthier twist on a classic, hearty dish! I used less pasta because the main dish is the chicken. Portion control is a must!! Do NOT expect to use up all the bread crumbs. There should be at least 1/2 the bread crumbs left at the end of breading. I start out with more because it is easier to coat, without intending to use all of it. Also, I used mustard instead of an egg wash. Less messy and close to no calories! Isn't life grand?
Servings: 2
Calories: 425 cal / serving
Ingredients:
2 4 oz piece of boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp spicy mustard
1/4 cup low-moisture part-skimmed shredded mozzarella cheese
1 16 oz can tomato puree
1/4 medium onion (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 box whole wheat thin spaghetti
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups broccoli florets
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
Chicken
Preheat oven to BROIL. Line a broiler-safe pan or a small metal cookie sheet (no non-stick) with foil and spray on a thin layer of cooking oil spray.
In a large bowl, mix bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning together, and set aside.
Brush both sides of chicken breast with spicy mustard (only a thin coat is needed).
Toss the chicken in the bread crumbs mixture until coated on both sides. Discard excess bread crumbs mixture.
Place coated chicken on the pan or cookie sheet and broil for 7 min on each side. If the bread crumbs start to brown too quickly, either lower the rack away from the broiling element or cover lightly with foil.
Top each chicken with 1/8 cup of mozzarella cheese and return to broiler for another minute. After the first minute, heat in 30 sec increments until cheese is melted and slightly brown on top.
If not serving right away, lower oven temperature to 200 F and keep chicken lightly covered with foil in the oven. (Don't forget to take it out of the broiler into the oven if your broiler is in a separate compartment!)
Pasta
In a large pot, heat half a pot of water till boiling.
Once water boils, add salt and pasta.
For firm pasta, cook for 5 min.
For medium firm pasta, cook for 6 min.
For soft pasta, cook for 8min.
Drain pasta and set aside (if not used immediately).
Marinara Sauce
In a sauce pot/pan, heat oil in high heat for 1 min.
Add onions to the pan and cook for 1-2 min. until translucent and soft.
Add garlic powder, black pepper, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning, stir to mix.
Lower heat to medium-low. Add tomato puree and sugar.
Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes, covered. Stirring occasionally. If the sauce gets too thick, add some water. If it gets too bubbly, lower the heat.
If not using right away, keep sauce heated covered and under the lowest heat possible. Check occasionally to make sure it is not too dry or bubbly.
Broccoli
Heat up 1/2 pot of water in a large pot until boiling.
Once boiling, add salt and broccoli florets. Cook for 5-6 minutes for large stalks, or 3-4 minutes for small florets.
Drain and covered until it is ready to be served.
**** If using frozen florets, simply put the vegetables in a large microwavable bowl. Add water till the broccoli is just covered. Heat for 4-5 minutes using HIGH setting. Drain and serve.
Serving the Dish
Measure out 1 cup of pasta with a liquid measuring cup. Divide into two equal portions.
Place a piece of chicken either next to or on top of the pasta.
So, I've been back on a diet and exercise plan since law school has once again expanded my waistline. However, I love food too much to just be eating boring diet food. So, here's the change to my blog. I will now be posting food with calories count. These next few posts (unless otherwise noted) will be all diet-friendly foods. Have fun!!
I made these for General Conference weekend. You can refrigerate the batter in a air tight container overnight if you want. I used fresh blueberries that I froze. I would suggest just freezing the whole box without washing them first. If you wash they, they will freeze together and will get smashed when they thaw. I prefer using frozen fresh berries instead of the frozen berries from the freezer section of the supermarket. Those tend to be tiny and smashed by the time they thaw out. Either that or they freeze into a hopeless block of ice. Anyway, enough about blueberries...on to the recipe!
Blueberry Muffins (makes 10-12 muffins) Ingredients: Dry Ingredients: 1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 cup frozen fresh blueberries
Wet Ingredients: 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla
5 tbsp melted butter
3/4 cup milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F and grease a 12 muffin baking pan.
Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.
Mix wet ingredients together until blended.
Add to dry ingredients all at once and mix with wooden spoon until just blended, but not overly so.
Let sit for 10 minutes.
Distribute evenly to the greased muffin pan cups.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the knife comes out clean.
The Holidays are over. The tree is put away. The house is once again clean, but depressing and gloomy. I don't think I've ever gotten the post-holiday blues before. Somehow, this year, I felt it. So to cheer myself up, I decided to remind myself why I love living in the southern part of the country where the sun shines almost year round: fresh, tropical fruits are always in season. Therefore, on Monday morning, I visited my neighborhood market and bought whatever they have in season. Here's what I came up with:
Steak and Mango Salad with Lime-Honey Dressing
Ingredients:
1 ripe red mango (pitted, cut into chunks)
1 bag of Classic Romaine Salad from any brand
1 large avocado (pitted, peeled, cut into chunks)
1 large Roma Tomato (cut into chunks)
A few thin slices of yellow onion
1/4 cup Feta cheese
1/2 tsp lime zest
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of black pepper
1/4 cup of Lo Mein noodles
1 boneless sirloin steak (6 oz)
Juice of 1 lime
1 1/2 tbsp pure honey
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp of black pepper
1 pinch of salt
Directions:
1.Cook the steak (seasoned with salt and pepper) either on a pan or broil it in the oven. Cook to desired level. I preferred mine medium. Let steak cool for 10 minutes, and then cut into chunks.
2. Toss the tomato, avocado, mango, onion, salad mix, salt, pepper, and lime zest together.
3. In a separate bowl, combine lime juice and honey. Mix until the honey is blended into the juice. Add salt and pepper. Slowly, add the olive oil while mixing vigorously.
4. Add the dressing to the salad mix and toss.
5. Sprinkle the top of the salad with Feta cheese, Lo Mein noodles, and steak cubes.
6. Refrigerate for up to 1 hr or serve immediately.
Happy Cooking!
---------
Oh, and here's the birthday cake that I made myself. I will not bore you with the details of making it. Just tantalize you with the picture of it. =P
Another holiday meal favorite that usually results in leftovers is ham. I am not a fan of having leftovers for days. So I usually try to get rid of it as soon as possible. That could mean having it for brunch and for dinner. My favorite brunch food with ham is "ham and cheese croissant". You can freeze the extras. You can make it the night before. It takes very little time to bake and with very good results. Here's the recipe that I used last night for an amazing croissant.
Ham and Cheese Croissant
Ingredients:
1 cup Butter (softened)
1/4 cup Flour
1 1/2 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Sugar
3/4 cup Milk (warmed)
1/2 cup Water (warm to about 110 F)
4 1/2 tsp Active dry yeast (or 2 packages)
3 cups Flour
3 cups Leftover ham cut into strands
2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 large Egg yolk
1/4 cup Milk
3 tbsp Oregano (dried)
Directions:
1. Using a wooden spoon or a hand mixer (lowest setting), cream the butter with the salt, sugar and flour until evenly blended.
2. Spoon the mixture on to a large piece of wax paper, cover with another large piece of wax paper. Roll the butter into a thin, flat sheet (12 x 6 inches) with a rolling pin. (It is better to use a cold stainless steel or ceramic rolling pin if you have one.)
3. Place the thinned out butter on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hr.
4. Mix the warm water and yeast together until dissolved. Add warm milk. Slowly add the flour 1 cup and a time and mix until evenly blended using a wooden spoon.
5. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth (adding a little bit of flour if needed). About 10 minutes. Let the dough rise (covered) in a warm (80 F), draft free place until double (about 1 hr).
6. Roll the dough out into a large square (14 x 14 inches). Place the sheet butter on to one half of the dough, remove the wax papers. Fold the dough in half, covering the butter, and pinch the edges to seal.
7. Roll the dough into a 20 x 8 inches rectangle. Starting from the short side, fold the dough in thirds like a letter. Seal edges and wrap dough in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
8. Repeat step 7 four more times.
9. Cut the dough into quarters. Working with one quarter at a time, roll the dough out into a 20 x 8 rectangle.
10. With a sharp knife or a pastry knife, cut the dough into thirds. Place about 1/4 cup of ham and a small handful of cheese at the end of each thirds. Fold the corners closest to the ham over the ham mixture. Roll in the edges and fold in the corners of the other end. Roll the ham mixture in tightly.Repeat with the rest of the dough quarters.
11. Place the croissants on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Let rise for 1 hour in a warm, draft free place. Cover with a clean cloth.
12. Beat the egg yolk with the milk. Brush over croissants. Sprinkle oregano over the top.
13. Preheat oven to 425 F. Bake croissants for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 F and bake for another 15 - 20 minutes, or until golden.
So right after finals, I went from cooking deprived to cooking overload. I woke up at 6 am the next morning after finals are over. When others were still sleeping, I was up cooking. I made 8 dozens gingerbread cookies, a 15 lb turkey, stuffing. gravy, and baked an apple pie (all from scratch, of course!) Needless to say, that was me taking on more than I could handle because I forgot I only have a half-size oven. However, 12 hours later, the cookies were done with none burned, the pie was beautiful, the stuffing and gravy were delicious, and the turkey was succulent. We had so much fun eating and caroling with friends! Then I was faced with what most people love and dread ... leftovers.
Leftovers are wonderful. You don't have to cook the next day. Your family is happy eating and remember the wonderful night from before....for about two meals. If you're like me, you always make too much food. I was left with enough turkey for 4 meals! First, we had turkey sandwiches, then turkey casserole... then we're out of ideas. I mean, you can always reincarnate the turkey, but what about the left over gravy and veggies?
So I decided to whip up something fun by putting a twist at the traditional way to recycle the leftover turkey. I made Turkey Hot Pockets. It's really easy and really fun! I used a home made crust. But if you are lazy, you can opt for a store bought crust as well.
Turkey Hot Pockets (6 servings)
Ingredients:
1 package Pillsbury® Rolled Refrigerated Pie Crusts(2 per package)
4 cups Leftover turkey meat (cut into small chunks) 2 cups Leftover gravy 1 cup Frozen mixed vegetables (or left over vegetables that you like, cut into small chunks) 1/2 Yellow onion (diced) 2 tbsp Heavy cream 1/4 tsp Black pepper 1/4 tsp Salt (more to taste) 1/4 tsp Sugar 1/4 tsp Thyme (dried) 1/4 tsp Sage (ground) 1 tbsp Flour (optional; see directions)
1 large Egg white, beaten
Directions: 1. Thaw the pie crusts. Cut each crust into thirds. Reshaped to form 6 small disks and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
3. Mix the turkey, veggies, onion, heavy cream, gravy, salt, pepper, sugar, thyme, and sage in a large bowl. Add some flour if the gravy is thin. You should get a thick mixture that is thick enough to hold its shape when you spoon it on to a surface.
4. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes.
5. Grease a large cookie sheet.
6. Take out the pie crust, one at a time. Spoon the turkey mixture on the one half of the pie crust, leaving at least a 1/2 inch edge on that half.
It's been way too long since I've had a few minutes to post anything. This is finals week. As much as I would love to be able to bake all day to relieve stress, it has been proven impossible this semester. I somehow find myself living in the library (practically there from 7 am to midnight when they throw me out kicking and screaming....) I think there's a permanent butt print in the chair that I sit in every day. The place is gloomy with no decorations, concrete staircase that squeaks every time someone walks on it, and not to mention endless piles of dusty law books that are in desperate need of updating. You get the idea. Therefore, my having to be there from sunrise to way past sun-down is making me highly irritable.
The good news is that it is at time like this when my strange child-like side comes out. First, I decided to buy a blanket-like shawl so I feel like I'm snuggling in my chair at home (kind-of). Then, I bought a table top Christmas tree. Yes....a Christmas tree. It's about 2 feet tall. I got it at Big Lots for $4. I also got the lights and the garland with the decorations for $1 each at Dollar Tree. It's wonderful. About $7 later, there is a tree in the library on the desk that I study. Every time someone walks by, they smile. Love spreading the joy around! Not to mention I suddenly find myself with many new friends attracted to the tree, including those that I've seen around the school but never spoken to and those who I simply did not know existed. I love it! Here's a picture of my tree:
After about a week and half of studying, I finally got a one day break. At the end of the second final exam, I threw my arms in the air, waved them around a little, and said "I'm going home, taking a nap, and watching TV!" So I went home .... bought lunch .... watched TV ... and (you guessed it!) no nap. Why would I ever want to nap now that I have a few hours to play in the kitchen!! (BTW, it got fixed. No more giant hole in my ceiling and choking, toxic particles floating in the air. Woohoo!) I was recently at a buffet where they served this wonderful puff pastry pinwheel with curried veggies in it. (Loved the puff pastry but wished they were less stingy on the veggies...) So with only a few hours to get this done, I decided to make my own spin on this. Alas! The Pinwheel Biscuit with Curried Fillings was born! Here's a picture of it (sorry for the quality):
It took me about 2 hours to make it while dancing to Christmas music and enjoying my new Gingerbread Cookie scented candle. But, nonetheless, here's the recipe....enjoy!
Pinwheel Biscuit with Curried Fillings
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (more as needed - see directions)
1 stick (8 tbsp) very cold unsalted butter (cut into very small pieces)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup very cold milk (2% or whole)
1/4 cup very cold (not frozen) sour cream
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies (or any fresh veggies you want to use - diced to small pieces)
1/2 piece boneless, skinless chicken breast (diced into very small pieces)
3/4 lb extra large shrimp (de-veined and de-shelled) - cut into 3-4 pieces per shrimp
2 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and butter together. Blend evenly into course crumbs using two knives or a pastry blender. (I find that a metal-wired potato masher works well too!) If butter begins to soften, put the mixture in the fridge for 15 minutes, then resume.
2. Add the sour cream and 1/3 of the milk to the dry ingredients and blend with a spoon. Continue adding the milk in small batches until the flour all stick together and slightly moist. (But not sticky and wet). If you need to, add more milk or more flour to get the right consistency.
3. On a lightly floured surface, rolled the dough out into a large rectangle. Dust the top lightly with flour.
4. Fold the dough in third like you would a letter.
5. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour and turn it over. Dust lightly with flour on the new "top-side" again.
6. Rolled the dough into a large rectangle again.
7. Repeat steps 4 - 6 about three more times. (if the dough ever begin to get too soft and sticky, then put it in the fridge (wrapped in wax paper) for 15 minutes.)
8. Line a large cookie sheet with wax paper.
9. Put a piece of wax paper on top of the dough (make sure the paper is large enough to cover the dough).
10. Fold the dough with the wax paper into thirds like you would a letter. This way the layers are separate by the wax paper. Put the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. You can wrap the dough in wax paper and refrigerate overnight if you want.
11. In a pan or a small pot, put in the water, olive oil, veggies and curry powder. Heat until simmering under medium heat. Stir occasionally.
12. Add the chicken. Cook under medium heat until the chicken is all white. (about 5 - 6 minutes) Add some water if needed to keep the ingredients from burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan.
13. Add the shrimp. Cook under medium heat until the shrimp is white but slightly translucent. Stirring constantly. (about 3 - 4 minutes) Add some water if needed to keep the ingredients from burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan.
14. Add salt and pepper to taste.
15. Drain the liquid from the fillings and spread into a thin layer on a large plate. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes until the mixture is cool to the touch.
16. Preheat the oven to 500 F. Placed the cold dough on a lightly floured surface with the short edge facing you.
17. Spread the fillings evenly over the entire dough, leaving about a 1/2 inch room at the edge.
18. Rolled tightly like a jelly roll. Pinch the two ends as you roll so the fillings won't come out.
19. Wet the top edge with a little water and seal it on to the side of the roll when you're done.
20. Cut the roll into 3-inch pieces with a very sharp and thin knife. (You can also try using the unscented dental floss method. I have not tried that.)
21. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or grease the pan well). Refrigerate for 10 minutes. (You can also refrigerate for up to a few hours if you want to make it later.)
22. Lower the oven temperature to 450 F. Bake the pinwheels for 10 minutes. Turn the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown.
23. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve as is. Or you can serve it with buerre blanc sauce (see below).
Beurre Blanc Sauce:
This is a French white butter sauce that goes well with most seafood and poultry. Here's a basic recipe for it: http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/buttersauces/r/beurreblanc.htm
I took out the wine (don't have any in the house), and added a little bit of black pepper. I also did not strain the shallot.
