Chicken Piccata

From "The Dinner Doctor" by Anne Byrn. Tiny chicken tenders are true to their name—tender. And they cook up fast. Doctor them with garlic, lemon juice, bread crumbs, and fresh parsley for a quick weekday piccata that's got a special weekend dinner feel to it. Slicing the tenders into strips before sautéing them will make them cook even faster. Serve this classic but simple recipe with rice or risotto.

To Prep: 8 Minutes
To Cook: 9–12 Minutes

Serves 4


1 cup toasted bread crumbs
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, crushed in a garlic press
1 pound chicken tenders (about 12), rinsed and patted dry
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon drained capers




1. Place the bread crumbs in a shallow bowl. Season them with salt and pepper and add the garlic. (If you are making your own bread crumbs by pulsing a toasted bun in a food processor, just add the salt, pepper, and a whole clove of garlic to the processor along with the bun.) Dredge the chicken tenders in the bread crumb mixture and set them aside.

2. Place 2 tablespoons of the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted, add half of the chicken tenders and cook until they are well browned and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the cooked tenders to a platter. Add the remaining tablespoon each of oil and butter to the skillet and, when the butter has melted, add the remaining tenders and cook them until they are well browned and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer these tenders to the platter.

3. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice to the skillet. Scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet and cook until the juices reduce to a glaze, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the hot glaze over the chicken tenders and garnish with the parsley and capers. Serve at once.

Lamb and Eggplant Ragu

This dish makes you do a happy good food dance when you eat it. Crazy good. I can't believe this is good for you too. I plated more than 4 ounces of pasta, but that's okay. :)

Makes: 2 servings
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces whole-wheat rigatoni, rotini or penne
4 ounces ground lamb or lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
1 1/2 cups diced eggplant
1 8-ounce can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon pine nuts, toasted (see Tip)
1/4 cup crumbled feta, (optional)


PREPARATION
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions.
Meanwhile, cook lamb (or beef), garlic and fennel seed in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, breaking up the meat with the back of a spoon, until the lamb (or beef) is browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggplant; cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant browns, about 4 minutes. Add tomato sauce and wine; cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Stir in oregano, salt and pepper. Drain the pasta; serve topped with the sauce and sprinkled with pine nuts and feta, if using.

TIPS
Tip: To toast pine nuts: Cook in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

NUTRITION
Per serving: 422 calories; 10 g fat ( 3 g sat , 4 g mono ); 37 mg cholesterol; 57 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 20 g protein; 10 g fiber; 343 mg sodium; 795 mg potassium.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

I was on a pizza kick this week, decided to make this pleaser too. 

Ingredients

1 frozen pizza dough (I used Fresh Direct's brand)
1/2 cup refrigerated basil pesto
2 cups shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese or Italian cheese blend
1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
1/4 c cherry tomatoes, sliced
2 c baby spinach, washed
Fresh basil leaves, if desired

Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F for dark or nonstick pan (425 degrees F for all other pans). Spray 15x10-inch pan with sides with cooking spray. Unroll dough in pan; starting at center, press dough into 15x10-inch rectangle. Bake about 8 minutes or until light brown. Spread pesto to within 1/2 inch of edges of crust. Top with spinach, 1 1/2 cups of the cheese, the chicken and tomatoes; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until edges of crust are golden brown and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with basil. Serve.

Chicken Gorgonzola Pizza

I knew I wanted to make something different and satisfying for dinner. 1/4 of this pizza is 12 points - and that's being generous - it might be closer to 10 or maybe even 9. I used part skim mozzarella, one chicken breast for the whole pie and only 1 ounce of gorgonzola for the whole pie. I am happy with how this came out: the creamy blue cheese was tangy and harmonized with the tart tomatoes and melted mozzarella. The crust was thin and crispy and the chicken juicy. Homemade pizza is the best!

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup water
1 (10 ounce) bag washed fresh spinach
1 (12 inch) pre-baked pizza crust (I used dough from Fresh Direct)
1 (14 ounce) jar pizza sauce
1 tomato, sliced
4 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stir in the chicken breast, and cook for a few minutes until the pieces begin to plump. Stir in the Italian seasoning, onion, and garlic; cook and stir until the onion has turned translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the water and spinach, and cover; cook a few minutes until the spinach has wilted.

Place the pizza crust on a pizza pan, and spread with sauce.

Top with the chicken and spinach mixture. 

Arrange the tomato slices over the pizza, then sprinkle with Gorgonzola and mozzarella cheeses.
Bake in preheated oven until the cheese has melted and lightly toasted, 20 minutes.

Crispy Eggplant with Homemade Tomato-Basil Sauce

This is my take on Eggplant Parmesan. It's a little different in that I bake the eggplant instead of frying it and I don't use any parmesan cheese in the bread crumbs. I'm also using Panko instead of traditional bread crumbs. I also don't re-bake in the oven with the sauce. I want to keep the eggplant as crispy as possible.

For the Sauce:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (16-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon oregano
Splash of red wine (optional)

Make It:
Coat a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of the oil and warm over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until soft. Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano  and sugar; season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat up slightly to medium and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the basil, wine, and the remaining olive oil. Let simmer while you make the eggplant.

For the Eggplant:
1 eggplant
1 egg white
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup Panko
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 oz fresh mozzarella cheese

Make It:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat two baking sheets and an 8-by-11 1/2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut eggplants crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Whisk egg whites and water in a shallow dish until frothy. Combine Panko, salt and pepper in another shallow dish. Dip the eggplant slices into the egg-white mixture, then coat with the Panko mixture. (Discard any leftover breadcrumbs and egg white.) Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, turn the eggplant slices over, and bake until crisp and golden, about 15 minutes longer. When almost done, top each piece of eggplant with a teeny slice of mozzarella. Turn oven up to broil and let the cheese melt and turn bubbly and golden (about 2 minutes).

Arrange the eggplant slices so that they stack on top of each other. Spoon about 1/2 c sauce over the eggplant pieces (or as much as you desire). You can also serve spaghetti pasta on the side and more sauce over the pasta.

Today's healthy tip is.....SLEEP!
Seriously. Google sleep and weight loss. Lack of sleep increases the stimulus to consume more food and increases appetite-regulating hormones. If you’re what researchers call a short sleeper (measured by how long you sleep each night—5.5 to 6 hours or less qualifies you), you’ll have trouble losing weight, no doubt about it. In a 7-year study of 7,022 middle-aged people, Finnish researchers found that women who reported sleep problems were more likely to experience a major weight gain (defined as 11 pounds or more). (Source or...Google it and see for yourself).

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

It's a new year and with a new year come new resolutions. Everyone aims to lose weight in January. It's the time that we focus on working out and gym sales go sky high. To help you all on your weight loss journey, I'm giving you a month of low calorie and healthy meals -- starting with this: It's a basic spaghetti but we are substituting pasta for squash. 

1 cup of squash is only 42 calories. 1 cup of cooked pasta is around 220 calories. And let's be honest - have you actually measured out one cup of pasta? You're probably eating more like 2 cups if you're not measuring; therefore, eating closer to 440 calories. Subbing the pasta for squash saves the average eater nearly 400 calories! Even though I've made this before, I found the recipe on the Food Network site; however, I altered the portions and omitted olive oil. Also, all you Italians out there that would NEVER use prepped marinara are free to use your own homemade marinara.

Ingredients
1 whole spaghetti squash
Gray salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups prepared (jarred) marinara sauce

6 oz lean ground beef (90/10)
1/4 c green pepper, diced (optional)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Split the squash in half and scrape out seeds. Line an oven tray with aluminum foil. Season the spaghetti squash with salt, and pepper. Place flesh side down and roast for 30 to 40 minutes until fully cooked. Remove from the oven and let rest until cool enough to handle.

Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and saute the green peppers for about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Cook ground beef in the frying pan. Add marinara sauce when meat is cooked through. Cook for another few minutes on low.

When squash is cool enough to handle, using a large kitchen spoon scrape the strands of squash from the inside of the skin. Toss the spaghetti squash (and peppers if used) in the pan with the hot marinara for just long enough to get hot. Serve and enjoy.

Grilled Lamb Chops

This is how the Williams's did Xmas this year. Lamb chops with a little sauteed string bean and roasted red potato with rosemary and garlic. Mmm Mmm Mmm....

Ingredients
8 (4-ounce) lamb chops
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary leaves
1 lemon, halved
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat a hot grill and the oven to 400 degrees F.
Rub the chops with oil, garlic, rosemary, lemon, salt, and pepper. Place on the grill and cook for 4 minutes on each side. Put on a baking sheet and finish in the oven, about 5 minutes, or until desired doneness.

Osso Buco

 I was watching Boardwalk Empire last week when one of the characters said excitedly, "Tonight is Osso Buco night!" and it made me want to make it. I invited friends over for dinner, went to Ottamanelli's Butcher Shop in the morning and bought 4 lbs of veal shank and the rest is history...

INGREDIENTS
1/4 pound pancetta, diced 1/4 inch cubes (do not substitute bacon)
2-1/2 to 3 pounds veal shanks (4 to 6 pieces 2-3 inches thick)
1/2 cup diced carrot (1/4 inch cubes)
1/2 cup diced celery (1/4 inch cubes)
1 medium onion, diced 1/4 inch pieces
2 Tbsp (about 4 cloves) chopped garlic
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 cup dry red wine
1-2 cups chicken or veal stock
Flour for dusting the meat before browning
Salt and Pepper

Gremolata:
2 Tbsp Minced flat (Italian) parsley
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

MAKE IT:

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Heat a dutch oven on the stove top over medium heat for about five minutes. Add pancetta to pan, cook, stirring occasionally. When the pancetta is crispy and most of the fat has rendered (about 5 minutes of cooking), remove the pancetta to a plate covered with some paper towel and set aside. If necessary, drain off all but two tablespoons of the fat from the pan.

Season the veal shank well with salt and pepper. Dredge the veal shanks through some flour, shake off any excess, and add the meat to the hot fat in the pan. Increase the heat to medium high and cook the meat on each side until well browned (about 5 minutes per side). Remove the shanks to a plate, set aside.

Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the dutch oven. Cook the onion mixture, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent (about five minutes) and toss in the garlic and thyme. Continue cooking until the vegetables just begin to brown (about 10 minutes).

Add the shanks and the pancetta back to the pan. Pour in the wine, and then add enough stock to come a little more than half way up the side of the shanks. Bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and put it in the oven to cook until the meat is tender, about an hour to an hour and a half.

Combine the gremolata ingredients, place in a separate small serving dish.

Serve on top of risotto, mashed potatoes, or polenta. Sprinkle with gremolata.