Chicken Pesto Salad

I like pesto. A lot.

Maybe it's because I'm Italian, but there's just something innately...amazing about pesto. I love the contrast of the basil and the cream and cheese. And just a hint of pine nuts.  I enjoy making my own pesto, especially when it comes to pasta. Pesto is amazing paired with ravioli or gnocchi.

But if I'm making a meal that requires something more...spreadable...I typically use Buitoni Reduced Fat Pesto.  It worked perfectly in this chicken pesto salad. I got a seal of approval from some friends who sampled the chicken in a sandwich. It puts a twist on the classic chicken salad sandwich.  Confession: this is totally a Weight Watchers recipe...thank you, WW!  Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 tbsp reduced-fat pesto sauce
2 tsp reduced fat mayonnaise
2 tsp plain fat-free Greek yogurt
4 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast
2 tbsp roasted red peppers
2 Nature's Own Sandwich Rounds (Whole Wheat)
1 cup(s) spinach leaves
1 medium tomato, sliced

1. Cut chicken breast into cubes and cook.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together pesto, mayonnaise and Greek yogurt until well blended.

3. Stir in chicken and peppers; toss until coated.

4. Top a slice of each of the sandwich rounds with 1/2 cup spinach, half of tomato slices and 2/3 cup chicken salad. Top with remaining half of the sandwich round.

Points Plus value: 7 (1 Sandwich; recipe makes 2)
 

Chalk it up to experience

 There are no failures...just experiences, and your reactions to them.  

-Tom Krause

Sometimes, despite our best intentions and our best-laid plans, we fail. It's not on purpose and it's disheartening. But if we get enough distance between ourselves and the failure, we learn. We learn what we did wrong. We gain experience.  Cooking is no different.  It's still an area where I'm learning and I've decided that I'm entitled to a bit of a culinary failure every once in a while.

It's happened a few times. There was the very first time I made meatballs. Disaster. There was the time I made the pork roast pinwheel with cherry jam filling. Inedible. And then there was the time that I attempted to make corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes for St. Patrick's Day. 

I originally intended to share this meal with someone. I had this exchange with them:

If you had to describe the failure of the corned beef experiment in one word, what would it be?

The answer? "Texture."  I'd say that was fairly accurate.

Here's what happened...
I've never really used my crock pot, despite the fact that I've owned it for about four years.  I've only ever melted chocolate with it to make fondue.  But I found a Weight Watchers recipe in the Community Blog for corned beef and cabbage...in a crock pot. Perfect, I thought.

Wrong. I followed the recipe exactly. I used the appropriate amounts of all the seasonings.  I even used the recommended brand of corned beef! I laid the ingredients in the crock pot in the outlined order. Then I cooked it on the preferred setting for the stated amount of time.

The result? Overdone corned beef. Undercooked potatoes.  I think I had the flavor right.  It tasted the way corned beef and cabbage and potatoes should taste. But the corned beef didn't shred. It was solid. It shouldn't be solid.  The potatoes were as hard as, well, raw potatoes.

Where did I go wrong? I'd love to blame my crock pot. I'd love to say it malfunctioned or something. But maybe I didn't have enough liquid to cook the potatoes. Maybe I didn't have enough onions on the bottom to cushion the corned beef. Maybe I am just not meant to use a crock pot.

Either way, this meal didn't quite materialize the way I envisioned. Next time, I'll stick to boiling my potatoes and corned beef. You know, the way it was meant to be done. It's more authentic that way, right?

Lime Chicken Kebabs...2 great meals, 1 delicious recipe!

Today's culinary history lesson: Kebabs traditionally consist of meat (typically lamb) threaded onto skewers and cooked over an open flame. Shish kebabs are originally Middle Eastern in origin (Persian, specifically), although they are part of traditional cuisine in the Middle East, the Balkans, and Greece. Arabic traditions cite Persian soldiers as the creators of kebabs, when they supposedly used their swords to roast meat over a open fire.

I love it when different cultures collide in one meal.   These kebabs have a bit of a Latin/tropical flavor, with the suffusion of lime and the added element of the pineapple.  The greatest part of this recipe was that I had enough left over for a completely different meal the next night.  But first, here are Lime Chicken Kebabs....

Ingredients

Juice and zest of 1 lime
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 peppers, chopped into chunks
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
1.5 cups of chopped fresh pineapple
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop chicken into 1-2 inch chunks.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the lime juice, lime zest, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken to the mixture. Place in refrigerator, covered, for at least 10 minutes (but no longer than 24 hours).

3. Thread chicken, pineapple, and peppers onto a skewer (I prefer wooden skewers).

4. Place kebabs on a grill rack (I used my George Foreman). Pour remaining marinade over the chicken. Grill until chicken is cooked thoroughly (about 8 minutes), turning often. 

They were delicious....

And they were just as good the next night! I had some left over peppers, and pineapple, and chicken.  So, instead of creating exactly the same meal, I grilled the chicken on the George Foreman, cooked the peppers and pineapple with some chopped onion...and served it with my favorite recipe for black beans and rice.

One recipe...two meals!

(First recipe) PointsPlus value: 4 points (per kebab)

Black Beans and Rice

It's no secret that I love Mexican and/or Spanish cuisine. Chipotle, Pollo Tropical, and Qdoba are all in my list of favorite "fast-food" eateries. But when I can cook some of these dishes at home, it saves money and time.  Black beans are great. They're filling, tasty, and they work well in a variety of dishes.

My recipe for black beans is all done to taste. I'll try to give approximations of what I used...

Ingredients
1 can of black beans, undrained
1/4 cup of onion, chopped
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
Olive oil
White vinegar
Water
Cilantro

1. Coat bottom of frying pan in olive oil. Over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in pan till caramelized. 

2. Add beans to the pan. Fill 1/4 of the can with water, and add to pan. Boil for 10 minutes. Lower heat.  Add cilantro and white vinegar to taste. Let simmer for another 10 minutes.

3. Serve over rice. (I used Uncle Ben's Boil in a Bag brown rice).  Top with chopped onion and cilantro. 

Chicken Florentine

It's no secret that I enjoy pasta. I'm Italian. It's practically in my DNA.  So any time I can find a fun, relatively not-fattening recipe with pasta, I get pretty excited.

And, according to this website, Italians are also especially fond of spinach. I'm not incredibly a huge fan of the leafy greens (except in this dish, or in a spinach and artichoke dip...coming up soon, post Super Bowl).  But this recipe was especially tasty. I've made it a few times...but over the course of a few tries, I've altered the recipe to suit my tastes better (my recipe is NOT the recipe posted on the website above).  So, without further ado...Chicken Florentine.

Ingredients

2 cups pasta (use whole grain...it's better for you, and it's more filling)
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed
1/4 onion, chopped
1 package (6.5oz) light semi-soft garlic and herb cheese spread (Alouette is amazing)
2 cups fat-free milk
1 tbsp flour
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (reduced fat, preferably)
2 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

1. Cook pasta according to package, but do not add any salt. Drain but do not rinse.

2. While pasta is cooking, spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Over medium-high heat, cook chicken and onion for four to six minutes (or until chicken is no longer pink and onion is tender). If the onion browns too quickly, reduce heat.

3. Remove skillet from heat, and stir in the semi-soft cheese until completely melted.

4. In a bowl, whisk milk and flour together until smooth. Add the mixture to the chicken. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently.

5. After sauce is thickened, reduce heat to low. Stir in cheddar cheese until melted. Toss in pasta, and cook for another two minutes, until heated through.

6. Stir in spinach and top with cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy!

PointsPlus value: 11 (yields approximately 5 servings)

Devilish Eggs

Deviled eggs are practically a staple as an American appetizer.  The concept is pretty basic: a hard-boiled egg, sliced in half, refilled with a combination of the yolk, mayonnaise, mustard, and spices.  In fact, the mustard and the spices...the ingredients that give the deviled egg it's kick... are also the ingredients that helped to name this tasty little appetizer.  In culinary terms, "deviled" describes something that is spicy, tangy, piquant.

Well, I didn't quite make deviled eggs for New Year's; I made devilish eggs.  Let me explain: the recipe is from Lisa Lillien's Hungry Girl book, 200 Under 200: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories.  Lillien takes recipes and manipulates them in ways that are completely inconceivable, but entirely delicious.  The purpose is to create healthier dining options.  For example, her recipe for Devilish Eggs is made entirely without the egg yolk, which is the "unhealthiest" part of the egg.  Yeah, you're probably saying to yourself: "But that's the main ingredient!"  Yes, but every single person that tasted the devilish eggs on New Years had no idea that it was made with cauliflower.  Yeah.  Cauliflower.

Are you ready to have your mind blown?

Ingredients

2 cups chopped cauliflower
12 eggs
4 wedges "Laughing Cow" Light Original Swiss Cheese
1/3 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sweet relish, patted dry to remove moisture
2 teaspoons minced shallots
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard
Yellow food coloring
Salt and black pepper to taste
Paprika (optional)

(Disclaimer: Because I cook like the rest of the women in my family, I prepare things based on taste.  So, I added almost another quarter of a cup of sweet relish, a little more yellow mustard...and maybe a bit more mayo.  Don't judge me.)

1. Boil the eggs for about 7 minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the eggs in the hot water for an additional five minutes. Peel the shells from the eggs under running cold water.  Cover the eggs and leave them in a refrigerator until needed. 

2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, add cauliflower and 1/3 cup of water.  Microwave the cauliflower for about 7 minutes (or until the cauliflower is soft). Drain excess water from the cauliflower.

3. Lightly mash the cauliflower.  (I used a potato masher and that worked brilliantly) Add the mashed cauliflower to a blender. Spoon in the mayonnaise, and puree until it is just blended (not smooth).  It is important to not over-blend.

4. In a mixing bowl, combine the cauliflower/mayo mixture with the cheese wedges, relish, mustard, shallots, and food coloring. Stir until smooth.  Season the mixture with salt and pepper.  Refrigerate for at least one hour.

5. Halve the eggs lengthwise, and scoop out the yolk. Dispose of the yolk.

6. Evenly distribute the filling among the egg halves.  (I placed the filling in a Ziploc bag, cut a small corner off the bag, and used it like a pastry bag to fill the egg halves.)

7. Top with paprika. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

I'm serious when I say that no one knew that these deviled eggs weren't quite so naughty...they were only devilish.  Kudos to Lisa Lillien for an amazing recipe.

PointsPlus value: 2 (4 pieces per serving)

(Adapted from Lisa Lillen's book Hungry Girl: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories)

Raspberry Linzer Cookies

I love raspberries.

Okay, that's not entirely accurate. I actually don't like to eat raspberries. They're pretty to look at, to photograph, but I'm not particularly keen on the taste of raspberries. Unless they are in jam or jelly form. Then, raspberry is one of my favorite flavors. It's a texture thing, I think.  I exclusively use raspberry jam or jelly: on bagels, on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, with brie...

And because every party needs a little sweetness, these Raspberry Linzer Cookies were ideal!

A brief history on linzer cookies: Linzer cookies are derived from Linzertortes (or linzer tortes, depnding on the source).  Linzertortes originated in Linzer, Austria and are consdiered one of Austria's oldest recipes.  Linzertortes are characterized by a light, flaky, almond-tasting crust, filled with fruity jams or preserves, and topped with a crust of criss-crossed latticework.  Linzer cookies are a derivation of this dessert torte, and they come in many forms, shapes, sizes, and flavors.  Because of my love of the taste of raspberry, I decided to use that.

Ingredients

1.5 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1.5 teaspoons almond extract
1 cup red raspberry preserves
1 cup frozen raspberries
Powdered sugar for garnishing

1. In a food processor, combine flour, powdered sugar, butter, and almond extract. Mix until the dough breaks into small pieces.

2. Pour mixture into a an ungreased 11.5 x 7.5 inch baking dish. With the back of a spatula, press into an even layer to form a crust.  Bake until the crust turns golden, approximately 20 minutes.

Left: Press the crust evenly on the bottom with a spatula; Right: Bake the crust for 20 minutes till golden.

3. While the crust is baking, combine preserves and frozen raspberries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the preserves turn to liquid and the raspberries are thawed.

4. When both crust and filling are ready, evenly pour the raspberry over the hot crush. Bake until the raspberry is set (about 25 minutes).  Remove from oven and allow to cool. Cut into 20 squares, remove from the baking dish, and cool thoroughly on a wire rack. 

5. Dust with confectioners sugar garnish.

A few more thoughts about this recipe...

One of the greatest things about this recipe is that you can substitute any flavor you want. Like blueberry?  Use blueberry preserves instead, and substitute frozen blueberries for the raspberries. 

Since I've started Weight Watchers, I've been using Smucker's Sugar Free Raspberry Preserves.  And when I went back and had a teaspoon full of the regular ol' Smuckers Raspberry Jelly, it was ridiculously sweet and I couldn't eat it.  Because it's a dessert, though, the cookies may have benefited from the non-Sugar-free variation. 

Another lesson I learned: wait to sprinkle the confectioners sugar on top of the cookies. They hadn't cooled all the way, and so it kept melting into the jelly. Then, I didn't want to keep adding it to the top since it would make the sweetness too high, and keep driving up the points.

For more information about linzer cookies or linzertortes, check out this article (complete with a much more complicated recipe for linzer cookies).

PointsPlus value: 3 points (1 cookie per serving)