Chicken Parmigina

I have had a Cooking Light cook book setting on my shelf for sometime now, like 6 years. Sadly it's been very underutilized as I have only prepared a small number of recipes from it, there's nothing wrong with the recipes I just never paid it much attention. But that changed this year for two reason's, one I realized that it's recipes are all designed to be light and healthy, and two the wife and I have both made new year resolutions to lose some weight. While flipping through the book I came across this recipe and I knew I had to try it.

The final result was delicious, juicy, and full of flavor. The best part is that a serving is only 312 calories which leaves plenty of room for a small bed wheat pasta or a side salad.

Ingredients
 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
 1/4 teaspoon paprika
 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
 6 (4 ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast
 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
 3 cups cornflakes, coarsely crushed (I used some dried bread crumbs as I didn't have cornflakes, I doubt that it will change the calories much if any.)
 1 (26 ounce) bottle low-fat spaghetti sauce
 3/4 cup (3 ounce) preshredded part-skim moxxarella cheese
 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

 Directions
 1. Preheat oven to 350º
 2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a shallow dish. Dredge 1 chicken breast half in flour mixture. Dip in egg white; dred in cornflakes. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken, egg white, and cornflakes.
 3. Arrange chicken in a 13x9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until done.
 4. Place spaghetti cause in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated. Pour sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake an addictions 5 minutes or until cheese melted. Yield: 6 servings ( serving size: 1 chicken breast and 1/2 cup sauce)

Stuffed French Toast

I was requested by my wife to make stuffed french toast for dinner one night, and only because it's so delicious I had to say yes. So with a quick visit to the Internet I pulled up an old recipe from, yup you guessed it, Guy Fieri. I'm not sure when exactly he had featured this recipe or when I saw the actual episode, but I knew it was one I wanted to try. I made one small change to the recipe and used whole wheat bread, which worked out quite well.

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 (2-inch) thick slices bread (I used regular whole wheat bread with no problem)
2 bananas, very thinly sliced
1 cup strawberries, very thinly sliced
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Maple syrup

Directions
Combine milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla in a shallow bowl. Set aside

For assembly, spread a thin layer of the cream cheese onto 1 side of the bread slices. Top half the slices with the fruit.
 Place another piece of bread on top, cream cheese side down, creating a sandwich.

Preheat a griddle to 30 degrees F. Lightly brush with the butter.

Give the milk mixture a quick stir, and dip the sandwiches into the batter, coating all sides.

Place on the griddle. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, then turn on the edges and cook to brown evenly.

To serve, slice sandwiches in half on the diagonal and transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with maple syrup.

Crock Pot Chicken

I have been wanting to try using my Crock Pot to slow cook a chicken for some time and I finally got around to doing so. I didn't use a recipe but I did try to follow the simple procedure of placing it in the crock pot and cooking it for 4-5 hours on low, in fact I placed it in the Crock Pot fully frozen.

I knew I needed some flavor with it so I decided I would add a bottle of Wheat Budweiser and about 2 tbsp. of Liquid Smoke, which I will definitely have to up as there was little to no flavor added to the chicken. The final product was an incredible juicy meat with a mild taste of beer, it was delicious. Now the only downside to using the beer is it now has me craving doing a beer can chicken on the grill, something else I have yet to actually try. But I'm sure once I get the correct amount of Liquid Smoke it will be a decent substitute on an incredibly cold winter day.

Soy Glazed Green Beans

I first came across green beans cooked in soy sauce at work when a fellow fire fighter fixed them for dinner, and I loved them. So when I saw a similar recipe on Guy's Big Bite I thought I would give it a try at home, and they were well received. My little girl absolutely loved them and kept asking for more, so this recipe is toddler approved.

Ingredients
Kosher salt
2 pounds green beans, ends trimmed
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season generously with salt. Add the green beans and blanch until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Immediately transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking, and then remove to a baking sheet with paper towels or a cooling rack to drain.

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the canola oil and butter. When the butter is melted, add the garlic and stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add teh green beans, soy sauce, sesame seeds, and black pepper and saute until the sauce reduces slightly and thoroughly coats the green beans, being careful no to overcook beans.

Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot.

Pan Seared Airline Breast

I'm always on the look out for a new recipe involving chicken, esspecially if I think I can substitute in boneless skinless chicken breast. I found this recipe on an episode of Guy's Big Bite and knew I wanted to try it. It's loaded with flavor and the chicken came out juicy and tender with plenty of spice coming from the black pepper, so be prepared to scale it back if your not a big fan of the pepper.

Ingredients
4 full chicken breasts, (ribs removed and wing intact)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup julienned yellow onion
1 cup trimmed julienned leeks
2 tablespoons roughly chopped garlic
1 cup jarred pitted Spanish olives, plus 1 tablespoon olive juice
1/2 cup white wine
Pinch freshly chopped thyme leaves
2 tablespoons butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Preheat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. combine paprika, granulated garlic, salt and pepper, in a small bowl. Rub seasoning mix all over the chicken. When skillet is hot, add oil and sear chicken, skin side first, turn over and sear other side. Remove to a sheet ray and put into the preheated oven to cook through, about 15 minutes.

To the pan you used to sear the chicken, add in to the onions and leeks. Saute for 4 to 5 minutes or until lightly caramelized. Add garlic and olives and olive juice. Saute for 2 minutes more, then deglaze the pan with white wine. Reduce wine by half. Finish sauce by stirring in thyme and butter. Adjust seasoning, if necessary, and keep warm.

When chicken is done. remove from oven, place on serving platter, and pour any juices into vegetable mixture. Pour over chicken and serve immediately.

Creamy beef and mushrooms with noodles

I am always on the look out for recipes that have decent serving size and less then 500 calories, so when I found this recipe from Kraft I knew I had to try it. With ingredients like Zesty Italian dressing, garlic, onion, sour cream and paprika you know it's loaded with flavor.

Ingredients
1 tbsp. canola oil, divided
1 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak (3/4 inch thick), cut into strips
3 cups yolk-free whole wheat egg noodles, uncooked
1/4 cup Kraft Light Zesty Italian Dressing
2 onions, chopped(I would suggest either 2 small onions or one medium to large onion)
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced(I omitted this with good results)
3 Tbsp. minced garlic
3 Tbsp. paprika (I suggest experimenting with less paprika as 3 Tbsp. was incredibly strong)
3/4 cup fat-free reduced-sodium beef broth
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup reduced fat or light sour cream
1 small tomato, chopped

Heat 1 1/2 tsp. oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add half the meat; cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes. or until evenly browned. Transfer to bowl. repeat with remaining oil and meat.

Cook noodles as directed on package, omitting salt. Meanwhile, heat Italian dressing in same skillet on medium heat. Add the next 4 ingredients; cook 12 min. or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in broth and peas; simmer 2 min. or just until peas are tender. Add meat; cook 1 to 20 minutes. or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Stir in sour cream until well blended.

Drain noodles. Serve topped with meat mixture and tomatoes.

Prep 20 min. Total 40 min. Makes 4 Servings

Bananas Foster

We celebrated our New Year's at home with just a couple of family member's and various finger foods. I decided I wanted to fix something that would be fun and entertaining. Now any one who has ever had this dessert prepared at a restaurant knows just how exciting it can be, as it involves setting the sauce on fire. It was as much fun preparing as it was eating this dish and in all the excitement that night I forgot to get a picture, but a picture alone will not do justice to the reaction you get by setting the sauce on fire.

4 medium bananas, firm but ripe
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Sauce
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup dark rum
1/4 cup banana liquer

Vanilla Ice cream

1. Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (350º to 450º)
2. Cut each banana in hal lengthwise and leave the skins attached (the will help the bananas hold their shape on the grill). Brush the cut sides with the 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
3. Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the bananas over direct medium heat, with the lid open, until warmed and well marked but not to soft, 2 to 3 minutes, without turning. Remove from the grill. Peel the banana halves, cut them into quarters, and set aside.
4. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the 1/2 cup of butter. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and cook, stirring constantly, until it bubbles, about 2 minutes. Stir in the rum and banana liqueur. Allow the liquid to warm for a few seconds and then carefully ignite the rum with a long match or multipurpose lighter. Let the flames die down. Add the banana pieces and cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until the bananas curl slightly. Spoon the banana mixture over ice cream and serve immediately.

Serves 6-8