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The Hunt's Dinner Sauces Supper Club

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hosting the Hunt’s Dinner Sauces Supper Club event at Mise En Place in Denver for a group of local food and mom bloggers. I demoed two recipes for the group, Southwest Stuffed Peppers and Chicken Cacciatore for Pasta (recipe below), to show how easy it is to use Hunt’s Dinner Sauces to create yummy and healthy dishes in 20 to 40 minutes.

Making Chicken Cacciatore for Pasta Demonstrating Hunt's Dinner Sauces

Making Southwest Stuffed Peppers

Then we dined on the fabulous dishes that the Mise En Place staff created for us.Inspired by the Hunt’s new versatile and delicious sauces, they created some amazing dishes like a spicy gazpacho, a quinoa and vegetable dish, and turkey meatloaf. Even professional chefs like the versatility of Hunt’s Dinner Sauces!

Spicy Demonstrating Hunt's Dinner Sauces gazpacho Quinoa, veggies and Demonstrating Hunt's Dinner Sauces

Turkey Meatloaf with Demonstrating Hunt's Dinner Sauces

What I love about using Hunt’s Cacciatore Dinner Sauce to make Chicken Cacciatore for Pasta is how quickly you can cook it up from ingredients you probably have on hand like frozen chicken breasts and dried pasta. You can make this recipe even easier by using presliced mushrooms and prediced onions from the grocery store. Chicken Cacciatore for Pasta

Chicken Cacciatore for Pasta

Ingredients:

  • PAM Cooking Spray
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 package (8 ounces) sliced fresh mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 jar (16 ounces) Hunt’s Dinner Sauce Cacciatore
  • Hot cooked pasta – whole wheat or gluten free (brown rice also works well)

Directions:

  1. Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat.
  2. Add chicken, mushrooms and onion and cook 6 to 8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add Cacciatore Sauce and cover and simmer 5 minutes or until hot.
  4. Serve chicken mixture over pasta.

More about Hunt’s Dinner Sauces

Hunt’s Dinner Sauces combine the high quality and backyard garden fresh taste of Hunt’s Tomatoes with other premium ingredients such as vegetables, herbs, spices and olive oil. They come in four flavors:

  • Tuscan: a taste of Tuscany with rich olive oil, basil and garlic.
  • Southwest: hearty black beans and red bell peppers.
  • Greek: a blend of savory artichokes and oregano is inspired by the tastes of Greece.
  • Cacciatore: the flavors of Italy with sweet bell peppers and aromatic herbs.

Each 16-ounce jar sells for around $2.49. Right now they’re only available in Colorado in the Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs areas. They should be coming to a grocery store near you in 2012.

You can learn more about Hunt’s Dinner Sauces at www.hunts.com or HuntsDinnerSauces.com. You can also connect with them on Twitter @HuntsChef and Facebook.

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Hunt’s, but my opinions and experiences are my own.

Posted on October 30, 2011 in Events,Food Reviews,Recipes and tagged as ,

smoked marinated chicken I just got an email reminder for my kids to place their online football picks for week 8. Week 8? Boy has football season gone quickly! Even so, it’s never too late (or too cold) to do some weekend grilling and barbecuing for the big game or a tailgate party.

Recently, I took advantage of our unseasonably-warm-for-Colorado weekend weather to cook up some chicken in our Masterbuilt electric smoker. It’s so easy to smoke a chicken that I don’t know why I don’t do it more often. (It probably has something to do with all that fish and venison in our freezer! Chicken’s a rare treat at my house.)

World Harbors marinades make smoking chicken easy

Using a premade marinade like those from World Harbors® makes the process even easier. This time around I used World Harbors Maui Mountain Teriyaki and World Harbors Maui Mountain Sweet 'N Sour to marinate a couple of chickens. (You can use any variety you like!) Combined with the smoke from the sugar maple wood I used, both birds turned out moist and delicious.

If you have a smoker or know how to smoke chicken using a grill, the process is easy. Here’s how!

Smoked Marinated Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pound fryer)
  • 1 bottle of World Harbors marinade of your choice
  • 1 sealable plastic baggie

Directions:

  1. Remove giblets, liver and neck from chicken. (Set aside to make stock.)
  2. Place whole chicken in plastic bag.
  3. Pour in entire bottle of World Harbors marinade.
  4. Add some water if necessary so marinade completely covers the chicken.
  5. Seal bag and set in refrigerator overnight or for 24 hours. Turn bag once to evenly marinate chicken about half way through the process.
  6. Heat your smoker to 235 degrees F and add your favorite bird-friendly wood (apple, sugar maple, etc.)
  7. Remove the chicken from the marinade. Place the chicken in the smoker, breast side down to start. After 1 1/2 to 2 hours, turn it over to finish.
  8. Cook the chicken until it reaches 160 degrees F. Make sure to check the temperature of chicken at the meatiest part of the breast between the bones.
  9. Remove the chicken from the smoker and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

This Mama’s tips

  • Since most smokers are large enough do two or more birds at once, take advantage of the situation and smoke extra chicken(s). Eat one immediately while you’re watching football. The extra chicken is great the next day in salads, sandwiches, stir fry or soups or reheated in the oven or microwave.
  • I like smoking fish (lake trout is wonderful) while I’m smoking the chicken. I place the fish under the chicken so the chicken fat drips on to the fish. Decadent!
  • If you want your chicken to cook even faster, try spatchcocking it!

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Disclosure: Mizkan, the parent company of World Harbors, provided compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Posted on October 26, 2011 in Featured,Recipes and tagged as , ,

The Chew

Have you had a chance to catch ABC’s new daytime cooking and foodie lifestyle show, The Chew? Here in Colorado, it comes on at noon, so it’s become my lunch time date with Mario Batali and his co-hosts, Michael Symon, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly, and Daphne Oz.

At times it’s a bit light and silly, but I do come away learning things I can use. Earlier this week, Michael made a Pantry Raid Recipe using couscous, pickled veggies and canned tuna. He used the vinegar from the veggies and the oil from the tuna as the vinaigrette. That was an aha moment for me as I’d drain both, then make a vinaigrette and add it back in. Duh on my part, smart on theirs!

Check out episodes and video clips on The Chew website.

Chew on some great tips and tricks

I also like their tips and tricks from making homemade bread crumbs to what the cost per serving is for each dish they make.

Plus, I was very appreciative that they discussed the recent listeria outbreak in cantaloupe and what you need to do to protect yourself. (If you have any cantaloupe in the house that you’re not sure where it’s from, throw it out! I’m currently recovering from listeria I got from contaminated Jensen Farms cantaloupe. After a week, I’m finally feeling better. It was not pleasant being sick, believe me!)

Mario Batalit

The best thing about The Chew is watching Mario cook. Here’s a recipe from his Italian Grill that I’m sure you’ll love. You can find more recipes from The Chew on their website.

Chicken Thighs with Pole Beans and Agliata

Recipe Courtesy of Mario Batali Italian Grill

Serves 6

These chicken thighs are coated with a garlicky bread crumb mixture and cooked slowly over the cooler part of the grill so you end up with juicy meat and toasted herbed crust (be sure to scoop up all of the delightful little clumps of flavorful crumbs from the grill and scatter them over the chicken). Start the thighs boned side down so that by the time you flip them over, the “presentation side” will have dried a bit and won’t stick to the grill. The beans are good with almost anything—in this particular pairing, the subtle flavor of the anchovy paste in the beans echoes the anchovies in the bread crumb coating.

Ingredients:

  • 12 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 salt-packed anchovies, filleted, rinsed, and patted dry, or 4 oil-packed anchovy fillets, drained
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • 2 cups fresh bread crumbs
  • 12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 3 shallots, sliced ¼ inch thick
  • 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
  • 1 pound snap peas, blanched in boiling water just until bright green, chilled in an ice bath, and drained
  • Olio Piccante for drizzling (see below for recipe)

Directions:

  1. Combine the garlic, ½ cup of the oil, the anchovies, parsley, and bread crumbs in a food processor and zap until smoothish.
    Put the chicken thighs in a large bowl and sprinkle with the bread crumb mixture, turning to coat well. Arrange in a single layer on a platter and put in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
  2. Prepare a gas or charcoal grill for indirect grilling.
  3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining ¼ cup oil in a 10- to 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and anchovy paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the beans, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring regularly, until tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer the beans to a platter and set aside.
  4. Place the chicken thighs skinned side up on the cooler part of the grill, cover the grill, and grill, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes per side.
  5. Arrange the thighs on top of the beans and serve with a drizzle of olio piccante.

Mario Batali

Olio Piccante

Recipe from Molto Italiano

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8 jalapenos, seeded and cut into 1/8-inch dice
  • 2 tablespoons hot red pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon sweet Pimenton (Spanish smoked paprika)

Directions:

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine the oil, jalapenos, red pepper flakes, and pimenton and heat over medium heat until the oil reaches 175° F. Remove from the heat, and allow to stand overnight.
  2. Strain out the solids from the oil. The oil will keep for 3 weeks in a cool, dark place.

Posted on October 1, 2011 in Cooking Shows,Recipes and tagged as

SONY DSCSONY DSC SONY DSCMy first time using artificial lighting. With a little help from Chris Caldes, Denver food stylist and Jennifer Olson, professional food photographer.

Posted on September 14, 2011 in Wordless Wednesday and tagged as

pistachio orange crusted chicken According to the 2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet, 25.8 million children and adults in the United States — 8.3% of the population — have diabetes. Out of these 7.0 million people are undiagnosed. Also, 79 million people are prediabetic, meaning their blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.

To encourage people to eat healthier, the Diabetes Care Club, a social network for people with diabetes, is offering free online diabetes friendly cookbooks for download.

Diabetes Care Club is a great source of delicious recipes for diabetics, their families, and anyone who wants to eat healthy. Check it out!

Diabetes friendly recipes: Pistachio-Orange Crusted Chicken

Pistachio-Orange Crusted Chicken

Recipe courtesy of the Diabetes Care Club

Ingredients

  • 1 boneless skinless chicken breast half (8 to 10 ounces)
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • Pinch freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachio nuts
  • 2 tablespoons plain panko crumbs or 1 tablespoon fine dry bread crumbs
  • 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 egg white, slightly beaten
  • Orange wedges (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place a wire cooling rack or other type of cooking rack on a baking sheet; set aside.
  2. Place the chicken breast half between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound the chicken to ¼-inch thickness. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Cut the chicken crosswise in half.
  3. Place the nuts and panko in a food processor container. Cover and process with on/off turns just until the nuts are finely chopped. Transfer the nuts to a shallow dish or pie plate. Stir in the orange peel and thyme.
  4. Place the beaten egg white in another shallow dish or pie plate. Dip the chicken pieces into the egg white, then into the nut mixture. Coat both sides of the chicken with the nuts. Place the chicken on the rack on the baking sheet.
  5. Bake the chicken in the preheated oven for 14 to 18 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted near the center reads 165°F.
Prep Time: 15 - 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 14 - 18 Minutes
Total Time: 29 - 38 Minutes
Nutrition Grade N/A from CalorieCount

Weight Watchers POINTS = 8
Servings: 2 servings
  • Serving size: 1
  • Calories: 351
  • Total Fat: 16g
  • Saturated fat: 2g
  • Unsaturated fat: 14g
  • Sodium: 196mg
  • Total Carbohydrates: 11g (1 carb choice)
  • Fiber: 3g
  • Protein: 41g
  • Cholesterol: 81mg

Photo courtesy of Diabetes Care Club.

Posted on September 5, 2011 in Recipes,Weight Watchers and tagged as ,

Six Ingredient Flatbread Pizza

For my final post in my American Express Blue Cash® Preferred and Everyday cards Blue Cash Dinner@6 $600 giveaway series, I chose a “so easy the kids can make it” dish – a healthy flatbread pizza. Like my Fish Veracruz and  Chicken with Feta and Sundried Tomatoes, it uses tomatoes and cheese. Using premade pizza crust makes it super quick and easy to make. Plus, you can tweak the ingredients to your personal preferences and dietary needs.

This pizza dish makes a great afterschool or movie night snack. Or serve it with a side salad and a glass of wine for dinner.

Easy Six Ingredient Flatbread Pizza

Ingredients:

  • Any kind of premade pizza crust, like Rudi’s Bakery Gluten Free Pizza Crust or you can make pizza crust from scratch using my Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe
  • Your favorite Italian salad dressing
  • Tomatoes, sliced  – I used plum tomatoes from my garden
  • Mozzarella – slices of fresh or shredded
  • Your favorite pizza meat (precooked) – I used Italian chicken sausage, but you can use spicy Italian pork sausage, slices of ham, pepperoni or soy crumbles
  • Fresh basil leaves (also from my garden)

Directions:

  1. Place pizza crust on a pizza pan or cookie sheet.
  2. Lightly drizzle Italian salad dressing on crust and spread evenly with a pastry brush.
  3. Add all your toppings but basil.
  4. Cook according to pizza crust directions or until cheese is melted and starts to turn golden brown.
  5. Remove from oven and garnish with basil leaves.
  6. Cut pizza into slices and serve.

Six Ingredient Flatbread Pizza

Blue Cash Dinner@6 giveaway winner

I’m happy to announce that Scarlet of MomsWearYourTees.com and the Family Focus Blog is my Blue Cash Dinner giveaway winner for her Easy Six Ingredient Chicken Marsala recipe. Like my Easy Six Ingredient Flatbread Pizza, you can modify it depending on your dietary needs and preferences. If you’re gluten free, you can use brown rice flour instead of regular flour. If you’re watching your saturated fat, use a buttery spread or olive oil instead of butter.

Scarlet says this is her daughter’s favorite dish. But if I was cooking it for my daughter, Lucie, I’d have to leave out the capers as she doesn’t care for them at all. When I cook this up next week for myself and my husband, I’ll probably use lots of capers and Marsala since we love both.

Easy Six Ingredient Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

  • chicken breast, sliced thin
  • flour
  • Italian seasoning
  • butter
  • capers
  • Marsala wine

Directions:

  1. Coat the breast in the flour and seasoning.
  2. Saute the chicken breast in butter.
  3. Add the capers and Marsala and cook about 3 minutes more.
  4. Serve.

Why six ingredients?

american-express-blue-cash-300x209It’s to celebrate the launch of the new American Express Blue Cash Preferred and Everyday cards. With the cost of everything going up, the new Blue Cash Cards provide a simple way for you to get cash back – as high as 6% – when you shop for every day necessities.

Both Blue Cash cards immediately offer cash back in categories in which prices are rising like gas, supermarket purchases and clothing bought at department stores. You can use it online, too.

With the new Blue Cash Cards, there are no spending minimums, cash back caps, ongoing enrollments, or rotating categories of cash back benefits. The benefits don’t change either, as they do with some other cards.

For Blue Cash Preferred, it’s as simple as 6%-3%-1% (6% cash back at supermarkets, up to 3% at department stores and gas stations, and 1% on all other eligible purchases). At 6% cash back, Blue Cash Preferred offers consumers the most cash back at the supermarket available in the market today. (Blue Cash Preferred carries a $75 annual fee, but may be worth having if you put a lot of purchases on your card.)

For Blue Cash Everyday, it’s a simple as 3%-2%-1% (3% cash back at supermarkets, 2% cash back at department stores and gas stations, and 1% on all other eligible purchases) with no annual fee.

To learn more about the Blue Cash Preferred and Blue Cash Everyday cards, visit www.americanexpress.com/bluecashcards.

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Disclosure: I was compensated for my time by American Express to create these series of posts and run the giveaway. All opinions are my own.

Rudi’s Bakery provided me with a complimentary package of their Gluten Free Pizza Crust.

Posted on August 26, 2011 in Contests and Giveaways,Featured,Recipes and tagged as ,

open face pulled chicken sandwich Today’s guest recipe from Holly Clegg comes from her Too Hot in the Kitchen cookbook. Maybe it should be called Too Hot and Too Busy to Cook In the Kitchen since so many of Holly’s recipe are easy and quick like this one for pulled chicken sandwiches.

If you’re too busy to cook and want to check out more of Holly’s time-friendly trim& TERRIFIC® recipes from her Louisiana kitchen, visit hollyclegg.com and The Healthy Cooking Blog.

Too busy to cook?

Looking for a quick dinner this hectic time of year? Or an easy no-fuss BBQ recipe for Labor Day? Whether you grill or not, you’ll have a guaranteed hit with my Pulled Chicken recipe. A great make-ahead recipe, this recipe can be a crowd pleaser to serve buffet style. A perfectly balanced tangy and sweet savory barbecue sauce cooks with the chicken in one pot in no time at all.

If you want another step-saver, rotisserie chicken from the grocery store may be used by heating it in the sauce.

Holly Clegg’s Open Face Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Open Faced Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

From Too Hot in the Kitchen

Serve with your favorite barbecue condiments—I like red onions and pickles. Try with Brie, for a fantastic addition.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 pound chicken breast tenders, cut into chunks
  • 2 whole wheat buns, split and toasted

Directions

  1. In medium pot, combine all ingredients except chicken. Bring to boil, add chicken. Reduce heat, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally until chicken is tender, 20-25 minutes.
  2. When chicken is fall-apart tender, shred chicken using two forks. Pile on toasted buns.
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 - 25 Minutes
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Nutrition Grade B from CalorieCount

Weight Watchers POINTS = 4
Servings: 2 cups pulled chicken
  • Serving size: Makes 4 servings with 1/2 cup pulled chicken
  • Calories: 220
  • Calories from Fat: 12%
  • Total Fat: 3g
  • Saturated fat: 1g
  • Unsaturated fat: 2g
  • Sodium: 429mg
  • Total Carbohydrates: 20g
  • Sugar: 2g
  • Fiber: 29g
  • Protein: 8g
  • Cholesterol: 66mg

Spicy Advice: Try serving over Sweet Potato Cornmeal Biscuits.

Dietary Exchanges: 1 starch, 1/2 other carbohydrate, 3 very lean meat

Posted on August 16, 2011 in Featured,Recipes,Weight Watchers and tagged as ,

six ingredient chicken

When it comes to feeding their families, moms want to put nutritious and delicious meals on the table fast. They don’t want to deal with a long list of ingredients, but want something they can quickly put together.

That’s why I’ve partnered with American Express Blue Cash® Preferred and Everyday cards to run a Blue Cash Dinner@6 giveaway of $600 in American Express gift cards. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be featuring dinner entrees that use no more than 6 ingredients. And I’ll be asking you to submit your favorite dinner recipes that use 6 ingredients or less for a chance to win $600 in American Express gift cards! (Details below.)

Why six ingredients?

It’s to celebrate the launch of the new American Express Blue Cash Preferred and Everyday cards. With the cost of everything going up, the new Blue Cash Cards provide a simple way for you to get cash back – as high as 6% – when you shop for every day necessities.

American Express Blue Cash cardBoth Blue Cash cards immediately offer cash back in categories in which prices are rising like gas, supermarket purchases and clothing bought at department stores. You can use it online, too.

With the new Blue Cash Cards, there are no spending minimums, cash back caps, ongoing enrollments, or rotating categories of cash back benefits. The benefits don’t change either, as they do with some other cards.

For Blue Cash Preferred, it’s as simple as 6%-3%-1% (6% cash back at supermarkets, up to 3% at department stores and gas stations, and 1% on all other eligible purchases). At 6% cash back, Blue Cash Preferred offers consumers the most cash back at the supermarket available in the market today. (Blue Cash Preferred carries a $75 annual fee, but may be worth having if you put a lot of purchases on your card.)

For Blue Cash Everyday, it’s a simple as 3%-2%-1% (3% cash back at supermarkets, 2% cash back at department stores and gas stations, and 1% on all other eligible purchases) with no annual fee.

To learn more about the Blue Cash Preferred and Blue Cash Everyday cards, visit www.americanexpress.com/bluecashcards.

Best six ingredient dinners: Chicken with feta and sundried tomatoes {Blue Cash Dinner@6 $600 giveaway}

Chicken with feta and sun dried tomato

After the making a very successful chicken picatta last month, I wanted to make something similar. Instead of lemon juice and capers, this recipe uses ingredients I keep on hand like sundried tomatoes, frozen chicken breasts, and crumbled feta cheese.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup crumbled feta
  • 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, minced
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
  • 4 chicken half breasts
  • 4 tablespoons flour (I used gluten free brown rice flour)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

  1. Combine the crumbled feta, minced sundried tomatoes, and minced fresh basil in a small bowl. Put aside.
  2. Lay the chicken breasts on a cutting board. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and use a meat tenderizer mallet to flatten to 1/4" thickness.
  3. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of the flour on each side of the chicken breast halves. Make sure to coast the chicken as evenly as possible.
  4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil to the skillet and heat until sizzling.
  5. Place the chicken in the skillet and cook for 2 minutes per side or until lightly browned and cooked through.
  6. Remove chicken breasts from skillet and place on an oven safe plate or on a baking sheet.
  7. Cover chicken breasts with feta, sundried tomatoes and basil mixture. Place under broiler for 2 minutes until the feta starts to brown. Be careful not to burn the dish!
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 20 Minutes
Nutrition Grade B- from CalorieCount

Weight Watchers POINTS = 12
Servings: 4 servings
  • Serving size: 1 chicken breast
  • Calories: 497
  • Calories from Fat: 205
  • Total Fat: 22.8g
  • Saturated fat: 8.5g
  • Sodium: 581mg
  • Total Carbohydrates: 10.7g
  • Sugar: 1.6g
  • Fiber: 1.0g
  • Protein: 59.7g
  • Cholesterol: 178mg

six ingredient chicken

How to enter the Blue Cash Dinner@6 giveaway

Please submit any dinner recipes you have that include 6 ingredients or less to be entered to win $600 in American Express gift cards. You can leave up to 6 total recipes between now and Wednesday, August 24th at midnight MST on this post and my follow up post next week.

The recipe doesn’t have to be original. You don’t have to cook up something new. It can be from someone else’s blog, website or cookbook. All you have to do is just share the recipe below!

On Friday, August 26th, I’ll announce the winner of the $600 in American Express gift cards and post that recipe here at This Mama Cooks! On a Diet.

To earn additional entries (you can only do so if you have entered a recipe), leave a separate comment for each of the activities listed below. If you don’t leave separate comments for each step, I won’t be able to include them as entries.

  1. Submit your favorite dinner recipe that features 6 ingredients or less. You MUST type or cut and paste the entire recipe into the comment form below. If you have a blog, please also provide a link to the post.
  2. You may submit 6 recipes TOTAL on this post and the one next week. (Not six recipe per post.) However, you must leave each recipe in a separate comment.
  3. If you have a blog or giveaways listing site/post/page, feel free to post about this contest on it for ONE additional entry.
  4. Sign up for This Mama Cooks! Review’s RSS feed for ONE additional entry.
  5. Sign up for my enewsletter for ONE additional entry.
  6. Spread the word about this giveaway by submitting a link to this post on Twitter for ONE additional entry. You must leave your Twitter username in your comment so I can check.
  7. Follow @amnichols on Twitter for ONE additional entry.
  8. Follow @americanexpress on Twitter for ONE additional entry.
  9. If you have done any of these additional activities you MUST come back here and leave a comment telling me what you did. I will be checking!
  10. Maximum amount of entries at This Mama Cooks! is 12.
  11. You have until midnight MST on Wednesday, August 24th to enter.
  12. ONE winner will be chosen at random.
  13. You must be willing to send me your full name, mailing address and phone number so I pass your info on to American Express’s PR people so they can mail out your American Express gift cards.
  14. I’ll announce the winner on this blog. I won't share your mailing info with the public, just your name. If you have a blog, I’ll link back to it when I announce the winner.

The giveaway is valued at $600 and is only open to legal residents of the United States, 18 years of age and older. No purchase required. Up to 12 entries per person. ONE prize of $600 in American Express gift cards will be given away. Void where prohibited by law. By submitting your name and email address, you agree to receive relevant promotional emails and contest follow up communications from This Mama Cooks! On a Diet in compliance with my privacy policy and giveaway rules.

___________________________
Disclosure: I was compensated for my time by American Express to create these series of posts and run the giveaway. All opinions are my own.

Posted on August 12, 2011 in Contests and Giveaways,Featured,Recipes and tagged as ,

chicken picatta Flat Belly Diet This month’s Secret Recipe Club comes from The Pretend Chef. In her post about her Chicken Piccata recipe, she shares a sweet story about when her son, “Itty Bitty” was little and she and her husband, “Mr. Sideline Chef” were living at a motel in Washington where he worked. After discovering the recipe in the Flat Belly Diet Cookbook by Cynthia Sass and Liz Vaccariello, she started making it at home. It’s a very easy dish to make and takes about 20 minutes to prepare.

The Flat Belly Diet

The Flat Belly Diet is an eating plan based incorporating monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) into every meal to target belly fat. The Pretend Chef features 32 Flat Belly Diet recipes. You can also check out eight Flat Belly Diet recipes here at This Mama Cooks!

In my opinion, Cynthia and Liz use way too much olive oil in their recipes, so I’ve reduced it by half in this dish. Yes, you want to “fry up” the chicken breasts, but there was so much olive oil in the pan (1/4 cup originally) that it splattered everywhere. Using a bit less would be just as effective – and less messy I would hope. (I probably spend 10 minutes cleaning up the oil off the stovetop, counters and microwave hood.) Using less olive oil also reduces the calorie and fat gram count.

Also, I used two huge chicken breasts instead of chicken tenders, since that’s what I had in the freezer. This increased the amount of chicken used. (The Pretend Chef used 12 ounces of chicken tenders.) While you’ll be tempted to eat it all, a proper portion size would be half of the half chicken breast – about 4 ounces of chicken.

Since I’m gluten free, I dredged the chicken in brown rice flour. You can use whatever flour you like – white, whole wheat, oatmeal, rice, etc. I also doubled the lemon juice, parsley and capers. They’re really the best part of the dish!

Finally, serve this with a side dish. Some ideas would be whole wheat pasta, steamed or roasted veggies, brown rice, couscous or quinoa.

chicken picatta Flat Belly Diet

Chicken Piccata

Based on the recipe from the Flat Belly Diet Cookbook

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (approximately 16 ounces)
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1/4 cup capers
  • ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Lay the chicken breasts on a cutting board. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and use a meat tenderizer mallet to flatten to 1/4" thickness.
  2. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of the flour on each side of the chicken breast halves. Make sure to coast the chicken as evenly as possible.
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil to the skillet and heat until sizzling.
  4. Place the chicken in the skillet and cook for 2 minutes per side or until lightly browned and cooked through.
  5. Remove chicken breasts from skillet and place on an oven safe plate. Keep warm in the oven until you’re ready to serve.
  6. Add the lemon juice, parsley, and capers to the pan juices in the skillet.
  7. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
  8. Season to taste with the black pepper.
  9. Serve the chicken with the pan juices and a side dish.

Nutritional Information

  • Calories 291
  • Calories from Fat 103
  • Total Fat 11.4g
  • Saturated Fat 2.2g
  • Cholesterol 108mg
  • Sodium 350mg
  • Total Carbohydrates 4.8g
  • Protein 40.3g

Nutrition Grade B- from CalorieCount

Weight Watchers POINTS = 7

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Posted on July 18, 2011 in Featured,Recipes,Weight Watchers and tagged as , , ,

grilling partyHolland House recently announced their summer sweepstakes “Grill of Your Dreams” on Facebook. The grand prize winner will receive a $2,000 Visa® Gift Card, which may be used to purchase a new grill. (For that kind of dough, you can hire someone to build a custom one with gas hookup in your backyard. My idea of a dream grill, for sure!)

All you need to do is go to the Holland House Facebook page, “like” it, then register with your info. Then you play a round of the Gulping Grill Game to win an instant win game prizes, a Holland House bottles gift pack. You can enter once a day. The Grill of Your Dreams goes until August 5, 2011. Go to the Grill of Your Dreams Sweepstakes page for Official Rules.

Get grilling with Holland House

grill of your dreams holland house Holland House vinegars are a wonderful way to create marinades and sauces for summer grilling. Here’s a recipe for healthy chicken skewers that uses Holland House Balsamic Vinegar that would be great with grilled corn on the cob or veggie kabobs at your next grilling party.

Skewered Chicken Balsamico

From the Mizkan website

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1-1/2 pounds chicken tenders
  • 1/3 cup Holland House Balsamic Vinegar
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
  • 3 large cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper
  • 6 (8-inch) skewers

Directions:

  1. Place chicken in sealable gallon plastic bag.
  2. Combine remaining ingredients (except skewers) in a bowl. Stir to dissolve salt.
  3. Pour over chicken and shake bag gently to coat. Seal bag and refrigerate 8 to 10 hours, turning bag over once.
  4. If using wood skewers, soak skewers in water 30 minutes. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
  5. Drain chicken well.
  6. Thread chicken onto skewers.
  7. Grill over low flame until cooked through.

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Disclosure: Mizkan, the parent company of Holland House, provided compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Posted on July 16, 2011 in Contests and Giveaways,Recipes and tagged as , , ,

sauteed chicken liver with anise and onions

OK, so maybe the flowered background was an attempt to dress up something that’s not so great looking. But who cares how it looks when you’re cooking up delicious chicken livers?! 

(Fine, you chicken liver haters can go pound cake.)

No more chicken liver posts after this one, I swear...April Fools! 

Sautéed chicken liver with fennel and onions

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon of your favorite buttery spread like I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light
  • 1/2 cup onions, sliced or diced (or both)
  • 1/2 cup fennel bulb, sliced or diced (or both)
  • 10-12 chicken livers
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Melt buttery spread in a sauté pan over medium low heat.
  2. Add onions and fennel and caramelized until golden brown.
  3. Add liver and sauté until cooked through.
  4. Add salt and pepper to season.
  5. Serve!

This Mama’s tips

  • I’m not going to include nutritional information. Honestly, I don’t want to know. Since I do this once a year, I don’t care.
  • If you can’t find fennel bulbs in your grocery store, you can substitute celery or just double the onions.
  • If you like chopped liver, put the cooked veggies and liver in a food processor and blend until creamy. Use it as a spread on bread or crackers.
  • You can use olive oil instead of buttery spread, if you wish.

Posted on April 1, 2011 in Recipes and tagged as

Stuffed pork loin chops and beet tops

Before the advent of the Food Network, one of my favorite PBS cooking shows was Justin Wilson’s, I gar-on-tee! I’ll never forget the episode that featured Pork Stuffed Pork – yes a pork chop stuffed with more pork. It seemed like a heart attack on a plate.

Memories of the pork stuffed pork episode can back to me while reading The Paleo Diet, by Loren Cordain, Ph.D. The recipes in it are very meat centered and very “clean,” so a good to fit in with my food sensitivities. However, when I saw the Paleo Diet recipe for chicken liver stuffed pork chops, I had to laugh. Who knew that Justin was (sort of ) ahead of his time?

Yuck, chicken liver!

Now, I’m sure you’re saying, “Ew, chicken livers!” I know my husband did when I told him about it. But I LOVE chicken liver! I always have as my mom’s chopped liver was out of this world. While other people search New York City for the perfect sweets or black and white cookie, I look for delis that sell chopped liver. One spoonful and I’m transported back to my childhood.

However, if chicken liver skeeves you, you can use mushrooms as a substitution – about two mushrooms per chicken liver. I chose to keep the recipe to two servings since I know most kids don’t like chicken liver. However, if you’re using mushrooms, feel free to double the recipe and serve it to the whole family.

I served this with a  Simple Beet Salad.

stuffed pork chop Chicken Liver Stuffed Pork Chops

Inspired by Justin Wilson and The Paleo Diet

Makes 2

Ingredients:

  • 2 boneless, lean pork chops (about 6-8 ounces each) trimmed of all visible fat
  • 4 chicken livers, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons celery, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fennel bulb, finely chopped
  • cooking spray
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Take a paring knife and carefully slit the pork chops horizontally to make pockets.
  2. Spray a saute pan with cooking spay and saute the livers, celery and fennel until transparent.
  3. Add chopped chicken livers until thoroughly cooked through.
  4. Season to taste with pepper.
  5. Stuff pork with the liver mixture and use metal skewer to close pockets.
  6. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy skillet, add chops and sear them over high heat on both sides. (Be careful not to scratch your no-stick pan with the metal skewers!)
  7. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Place stuffed chops in the dish and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until tender. Do not overcook pork! It should be slightly pink not gray!

Nutritional information

  • Calories 686
  • Calories from Fat 471
  • Total Fat 52.4g
  • Saturated Fat 17.5g
  • Trans Fat 0.0g
  • Cholesterol 343mg
  • Sodium 153mg
  • Total Carbohydrates 3.9g
  • Dietary Fiber 1.1g
  • Protein 48.0g
  • Vitamin A 95%
  • Vitamin C 21%
  • Calcium 10%
  • Iron 46%

Nutrition Grade B+ from CalorieCount 

Weight Watchers POINTS = 9 points for HALF a stuffed pork chop! To lower even more use veggies only and sear chops in less olive oil.

This Mama’s tips

  • Boneless pork chops can be pretty big. You might want to split one between two people with smaller appetites.
  • If you’re on the paleo diet, you may want to add more veggies like carrots and have have a 1:1 ratio of flaxseed oil to olive oil, so you get all your Omega-3s in.
  • Believe it or not, the pork chop is pretty darn good cold. Slice it up and add the pork to a leafy green salad.
  • If you cannot find fresh fennel at your grocery store, use onion or double the celery.

Posted on March 30, 2011 in Featured,Recipes,Weight Watchers and tagged as ,

roast chicken

I came across the best recipe and method for a classic roast chicken in the March 2011 issue of Cooking Light magazine – How to Roast a Whole Chicken. The seasoning and flavor were perfect. Also, the method of roasting the chicken for 45 minutes at 350 degrees and the rest of the time at 450 degrees made the skin golden and crispy.

Yes, I know that you shouldn’t eat roast chicken skin, but it’s so hard to resist. According to Cooking Light, “Since chicken breast meat is low in calories and saturated fat, you can eat the skin and still keep saturated fat within allowable limits. If you like dark meat, which is higher in saturated fat, remove and discard the skin.”

I’ll leave the indulgence up to you.

Roast chicken made easy with Mrs. Dash

Even though Cooking Light’s roast chicken recipe was easy to make, it involved buying special ingredients like fresh herbs. I thought there’s got to be an easier way to make this with ingredients I already have in my pantry and refrigerator. That’s when I thought of using Mrs. Dash seasonings blends.

Making your own roast chicken can be a bit more expensive than picking up a rotisserie chicken at the store. However, using Mrs. Dash and cooking roast chicken from scratch means not only lowering the sodium content but knowing what ingredients went into making it. This is very important if you have food sensitivities or allergies.

Plus, cooking roast chicken at home makes your whole house smell finger lickin’ good!

Mrs. Dash’s Roast Chicken

Based on Classic Roast Chicken from Cooking Light magazine

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 breast half or 1 leg quarter)

Ingredients:

  • 1 (4-pound) whole roasting chicken
  • 3 teaspoons buttery spread like I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light
  • 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of your favorite Mrs. Dash seasoning blend
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1 lemon, quartered

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Discard giblets and neck from chicken. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breasts and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat.
  3. Combine butter, oil and Mrs. Dash in a small bowl.
  4. Rub mixture under loosened skin, over flesh, then rub over top of skin.
  5. Tie ends of legs together with twine. Lift wing tips up and over back, and tuck under chicken.
  6. Place chicken, breast side up, on a rack. Place rack in roasting pan. Place onion and lemon in cavity of chicken.
  7. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 450° (do not remove chicken) and bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in meaty part of leg registers 165°.
  8. Remove chicken from pan and let stand 10 minutes. Discard skin. Carve chicken.

Nutritional information

(from original recipe)

  • Calories 278
  • Fat 13.6g (sat 4.1g, mono 5.7g, poly 2.5g)
  • Cholesterol 111mg
  • Carbs 0.9g;
  • Sodium 563mg
  • Protein 35.7g
  • Fiber 0.3g

Weight Watchers POINTS = 7

This Mama’s tips

  • I used Garlic & Herb on one chicken and Caribbean Citrus on another chicken. Other blends like Onion & Herb and Lemon Pepper would work well, too.
  • Experiment with other citrus. Use grapefruit, limes or oranges along with or instead of lemons.

____________________
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Mrs. Dash. I received the full set of Mrs. Dash seasoning blends and was compensated for my time.

Posted on March 16, 2011 in Featured,Food Reviews,Recipes and tagged as , ,

Sriracha Chicken Skewers My husband is a big fan of sriracha sauce. I wasn’t until I tried my friend Jennifer’s Sriracha Chicken Wings. (She also has a recipe for Crispy Baked Panko Sriracha Chicken Tenders on her blog, Savoring the Thyme.)

I made her sriracha chicken wings for the Super Bowl and loved them. Still, I was a little freaked out about eating wings due to all the fat from the chicken skin. Wanting to “health it up,” I used thigh meat in my Sriracha Chicken Skewers. You could also use chicken breast since it’s leaner and lower in Weight Watchers POINTS, calories and fat.

Serve the sriracha chicken with stir fried vegetables and brown rice or quinoa. You can also double or triple the recipe for a terrific party appetizer.
Sriracha Chicken Skewers

Sriracha Chicken Skewers

Sriracha Chicken Skewers

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup amber agave nectar
  • 1/4 cup low sodium, gluten free soy or tamari sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons sriracha sauce
  • 4 chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  • 6-10 bamboo skewers
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca or corn starch

Directions

  1. Slice chicken thigh meat into 1 inch strips. Place into a food storage container large enough for chicken and marinade.
  2. Combine agave through sriracha ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined.
  3. Pour over chicken and place lid on container. Shake so chicken is completely covered with marinade.
  4. Place container in the refrigerator and marinate for a minimum of one hour. Overnight is ideal for maximum flavor.
  5. Soak 10 bamboo skewers in water for 10 to 20 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  7. Prepare the baking sheet by covering it with foil for easier cleanup. Then place an oven safe cooling rack on it. (Cooking it on a rack helps to caramelize the marinade glaze.)
  8. Remove meat from marinade and thread on to skewers.
  9. Pour marinade into a small sauce pan and bring to a rolling boil.
  10. Mix one tablespoon of starch with an equal amount of water. Stir to produce a slurry. Pour slurry into boiling marinade and stir. It should immediately thicken. Once it thickens remove from heat.
  11. Take a pastry brush or spatula and brush thickened marinade sauce on to both sides of the skewered chicken.
  12. Evenly place chicken skewers on racks and put baking sheet into the oven.
  13. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through.
Prep Time: 1:30 - 12 Hours 30 Minutes
Total Time: 20 Minutes
Nutrition Grade B- from CalorieCount

Weight Watchers POINTS = 9
Servings: Serves 4
  • Serving size: 6 ounces of chicken
  • Calories: 341
  • Calories from Fat: 70
  • Total Fat: 7.8g
  • Saturated fat: 2.0g
  • Unsaturated fat: 5.8g
  • Sodium: 494mg
  • Total Carbohydrates: 11.1g
  • Protein: 53.3g
  • Cholesterol: 151mg

Nutritional information (using chicken breast)

1 serving is approximately 6 ounces of chicken

When using chicken breast:

Calories 341
Calories from Fat 70
Total Fat 7.8g
Saturated Fat 2.0g
Cholesterol 145mg
Sodium 494mg
Total Carbohydrates 11.1g
Protein 53.3g
Nutrition Grade B from CalorieCount

Weight Watchers POINTS = 7

This Mama’s tips

Posted on March 6, 2011 in Featured,Recipes,Weight Watchers and tagged as , ,

island chicken

Going through my weight loss and healthy eating journey, I’ve realized that there is no diet, exercise routine or eating plan that works for all. For some people, they need to go to Weight Watchers and get the support that group meetings offer. Others need to eat clean and combine certain types of food like in the Cinch! plan or with the  Flat Belly Diet. For me, it’s about working around my food sensitivities.

Many people don’t need all the frills and instead rely on counting calories. That’s where the 400 Calorie Fix: The Easy New Rule for Permanent Weight Loss! comes in. Written by Liz Vaccariello, author of the Flat Belly Diet, Mindy Herman, RD and the Editors of Prevention magazine, this terrific cookbook and eating plan can help you lose the weight.

The 400 Calorie Fix program

The 400 Calorie Fix program is easy to follow. You can eat anything you want as long as you can consume it as one of four, 400 calorie meals throughout the day. It's not a diet. Instead, it's a food fix that simplifies the guesswork that we all struggle with when it comes to losing weight. It's about going back to basics with easy calorie counting and easy solutions that fit with your lifestyle and busy schedule.

The book features gorgeous photography and recipes for dishes like couscous salad and sloppy joes. What I really liked about the book is that they gave you ideas for dining out or making 400 calorie packaged food meals as well as cooking from scratch – super practical when you live “on the run” as many moms do. There’s also 2-Week Quick Slim jumpstart plan to help you get started.

The 400 Calorie Fix is a practical guide that will work for busy moms and their families and inspire them to eat more healthfully and in the proper portion sizes. Here’s a sample recipe for an easy-to-prepare, tropical chicken dish that the whole family will love.

Island Chicken with Pina Colada Salsa

Prep time: 10 minutes + 24 hours marinating | Cook time: 14 minutes

Makes 4 servings

400 Calorie Fix Ingredients:

  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 8 pieces
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 11/2 tablespoons curry powder (hot or sweet)
  • 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon + 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
  • 1 can (20 ounces) unsweetened crushed pineapple (with juice)
  • 1/2 cup chopped red onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped scallions or chives
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened
  • 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 cup uncooked brown rice, prepared according to package directions

Directions:

  1. Place the chicken on a flat pan or in a resealable plastic bag. Whisk together the orange juice, curry powder, soy sauce, honey, garlic, and 1
    tablespoon of the mint. Pour over the chicken. Turn the chicken to coat. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours, moving the pieces
    around occasionally.
  2. To make the salsa: Strain the pineapple. Combine the pineapple, onion, scallions, cilantro, lime juice, coconut, red pepper flakes, salt, and the
    remaining 1/4 cup mint in a medium bowl. Refrigerate.
  3. Remove the chicken from the marinade. Grill or broil for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink in the center. Check by inserting the
    tip of a sharp knife into 1 breast.
  4. Place one-quarter of the rice on each of 4 plates. Top with 2 pieces of chicken and 1/4 cup salsa. Serve the remaining salsa at the table.

Nutritional information

1 serving = 2/3 cup cooked rice, 2 pieces chicken, 1/4 cup salsa

  • Calories: 400
  • Total Fat:5g
  • Saturated Fat: 2g
  • Sodium: 280mg
  • Carbohydrate: 59g
  • Dietary Fiber: 5g
  • Protein: 32g
  • Calcium: 6%

Weight Watchers POINTS = 8

This Mama’s tips

  • Substitute 1 tablespoon Stevia Extract in the Raw for the honey to reduce the calories.
  • If you’re like me and have to avoid curry powder (or just don’t like it) you could use another spice like cayenne pepper (use about 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon depending on how spicy you want your chicken). I would also recommend using Mrs. Dash’s Caribbean Citrus seasoning blend in this dish.
  • If you’re eating gluten free, make sure to use a GF soy sauce.
  • You can find shredded, unsweetened coconut in the healthy food section of your grocery store or at your local health food store. Don’t use the crappy, sugary stuff in the baking aisle!
  • I have to avoid oranges due to my food sensitivities, so I would use grapefruit juice instead.

____________
Disclosure: I was provided with a review copy of this cookbook.

Posted on January 20, 2011 in Cookbooks,Recipes,Weight Watchers and tagged as ,