New Cook Book!

That's right I have a new cook book and it's from Cooking Light, "Cooking through the Season". My lovely wife picked this up for me while she was at one of the local Borders for it's big going out of business sale. The book is filled with recipes for every season and I can't wait to dig into it. Once I get a chance to look through it I will be sure to post a complete review.

Chicken With Linguine, Leeks, and Tomatoes

Here's another delicious chicken recipe that will have you coming back for more. The best part it, it's Tot approved! That's right, my little girl loved this recipe as did my wife and I.

4 skinned, boned, chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons stick margarine or butter
3 cups sliced leeks (about 3 medium)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (14.5 ounce) can no salt added whole tomatoes, un-drained and chopped
4 ounces linguine, uncooked and broken into 2-inch pieces

Directions
1. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; flatten to 1/4 inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt and next ingredient; sprinkle over both sides of chicken.
2. Melt margarine in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove chicken from pan.
3. Add leeks and garlic to pan; cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add chicken, chicken broth, and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 20 minutes. Uncover, and increase heat to medium-high. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates and pasta is done. Yeild:4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and 2.3 cup pasta mixture) 326 calories, 4g fat

Honey-Garlic Chicken Wings

I know it's been well over a week since the Super Bowl and the rest of the world had moved on, but I really wanted to share what I fixed at our house for dinner.

I've been setting on this recipe for a while, but just never got around to actually fixing it. The only downside to this recipe is that it's very mild in regards to spice, I believe I will be doubling or tripling the amount of hot sauce the next time around. Also I chose not follow the recipe on cooking them on a skewer, which involves threading the skewer through the wing as if it was in flight. I instead chose to cut the wings into pieces at the joints and discarding the wing tips. It made for a little more excitement and work during the direct grilling as I was  doing a lot of shuffling during the flare ups, but that made for a great show.

Marinade
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 pounds chicken wings
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce

1. In a large bowl combine 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice, the garlic, salt and pepper. Add the wings and turn to coat them evenly. Cover and refrigerate for up to  4 hours.
2. In a small bowl combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, the honey, and hot sauce. ( Be sure to add more hot sauce as you like)
3. Prepare teh grill for direct and indirect cooking over medium heat.
4. Brush the cooking grates clean. Brown the wings over direct medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once. then move the wings over indirect medium heat and cook until the meat is no longer pink at the bone, 15 to 20 minutes, basting with the honey mixture once or twice during the last 10 minutes of grilling time. Keep the lid closed as much as possible during grilling. Remove the wings from the grill, brush once more with the glaze, and serve.

Slow Cooked Sweet Barbacoa Pork with Caribbean Rice and Beans

I love going to eat at Chipotle's, but as it's not easy on the pocket book or calorie count I wanted to find a better way of enjoying it with out all the guilt. I got the idea from skinnytaste.com where she was asked to do the same thing for a different restaurant. I took her recipe for the pork and a recipe from my Cooking Light Cook Book for the rice. We loved it and it was close to Chipotle's, which is probably because it was a lot healthier.

Slow Cooked Sweet Barbacoa Pork
Ingredients
Marinade
2.5 pound Pork Tenderloin
salt and pepper
garlic powder
6 oz Coke Zero
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water

Step 2
8 oz Coke Zero
6 oz can sliced green chilies
8oz tomato sauce
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp chipotle chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup brown sugar

Season pork with salt, pepper and garlic powder and place in the crock pot. Add 6 oz of coke and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Marinate refrigerated for a few hours or overnight turning meat at least once while marinating.

Remove crock from refrigerator, add water, and cook on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily). Remove pork from crock pot and discard any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork with two forks.

Step two: In the crock pot, combine 8 oz coke, green chilies, tomato sauce, chipotle chile, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle chili powder and remaining brown sugar.

Put shredded pork back in the crock pot and combine with sauce. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, cover and cook on high 1-1/2 hours more.

Caribbean Rice and Beans
Ingredients
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup uncooked instant rice
1 tsp vegetable oil
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
3 garlic clobes, minced
1 cup coarsely chopped tomato
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped fresh cliantro
1 (15 ounce) can black, beans drained and rinsed
1/2 cup pre-shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions
1/ Bring water to a boil in a saucepan, and stir in rice. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add chopped tomato, salt, crushed red pepper, and cumin; saute 2 minutes.
3. Stir in cooked rice, cilantro, and black beans; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Divide bean mixture evenly among 4 plates and sprinkle with cheese.

Chicken Nuggets and Sweet Potato Fries

I had intended to get this out in time for the Super Bowl, but a blizzard in our area left me with a lot of snow to deal with and little energy for much else. However they were so good I could not let the recipe go to waste, especially when my toddler was in love with them.

Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
2 eggs beaten
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
1. Cut chicken breast into one inch strips and set aside.
2. Combine bread crumbs, onion powder, paprika, thyme, and black pepper in a medium bowl. Place two eggs in a small bowl and beat till well blended.
3. Take the chicken and dredge in the eggs and then roll in the bread crumb mixture and place in an oven at 400º F. Back for 5 minutes then turn the pieces over and bake for another 5 minutes or until cooked through.

Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes
olive oil

Directions
Peel the sweet potatoes and slice them like steak fries, this will help preventing them from burning and to help get a crunchy crust. Place the strips on a baking pan and bake them in the oven at 450º for 20 minutes being sure to turn them about half way through. Be sure to let them cool for 5-6 minutes before serving.

Tex-Mex Nachos

With Super Bowl this weekend I've been looking for some healthy alternatives to serve and this will be sure to satisfy. It's loaded with flavor and low on calories, so it will be sure to help you keep that new year's resolution to lose some weight and eat healthier.

Ingredients:
 3/4 pound ground round
 1/4 cup green onion
 3/4 cup taco sauce
 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
 1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
 1 (8-3/4 ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained
 2 ounces baked tortilla chips( about 3 cups or about 42 small chips)
 3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
 1 cup chopped tomato
 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
 1/2 cup bottled salsa
 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

 Directions
 1. Cook beef and green onions in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well; return beef mixture to pan. Stir in taco sauce, garlic powder, pepper, beans, and corn; cook until thoroughly  heated. Spoon 1 cup beef mixture over 3/4 cup chips; top with 3/4 cup lettuce, 1/4 cup tomato, 1.4 cup cheese, 2 tablespoons salsa, and 2 tablespoons sour cream. Repeat procedure with remaining ingredients. Yield: 4 servings.