Cassoulet-Style Chicken Thighs

Cassoulet-Style Chicken Thighs

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

2 15-ounce cans white beans, rinsed
¾ cup fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs (see Tip)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into thirds
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
½ cup water
½ pound low-fat turkey kielbasa, sliced into ½-inch pieces
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley


Instructions

1. Put 1/2 cup beans in a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add the remaining beans and set aside.
2. Toss breadcrumbs with 1 tablespoon oil in a small bowl. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring often, until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add chicken in a single layer and cook until browned, turning once, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
4. Add onion and garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add rosemary, thyme and pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine, increase heat to high and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits, until the wine has reduced by about half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add broth, water, kielbasa, the reserved beans and chicken; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Top with the toasted breadcrumbs and parsley.



Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Tip: To make fresh breadcrumbs: Trim crusts from firm sandwich bread. Tear bread into pieces and process in a food processor into coarse crumbs. One slice of bread makes about 1/3 cup crumbs.



Per serving: 370 calories; 13 g fat (3 g sat, 6 g mono); 68 mg cholesterol; 40 g carbohydrate; 29 g protein; 10 g fiber; 749 mg sodium.
Source: Eating Well

Rants continued......

Brussels Sprouts in Curry Coconut Sauce

Brussels Sprouts in Curry Coconut Sauce

3 Tbsps. vegetable oil
2 cloves finely minced garlic
2 shallots
1 pound Brussels spouts
1 Tbsp. hot curry powder
1 cup coconut milk (used light)
salt & pepper to taste

Cut brussels sprouts in to quarters. Separate cut section from loose leaves. Bring pot of water to boil, add brussels sprouts to water. Blanch in hot water for just about 3-5 seconds. Once cooled, remove brussel sprouts and blot dry with paper towels.
Heat pan , add oil then minced garlic and shallots till brown. Add brussels sprouts, toss in pepper, salt, and curry powder.
Add coconut milk, cook 30 minutes or less . Do not over cook! Remove from heat and enjoy

Rants continued......

Recommitted 1/6/09

Will come back tomorrow and start posting again.

Rants continued......

Chicken Breasts with Savory Apple Stuffing

Chicken Breasts with Savory Apple Stuffing
From: The Good Carb Cookbook

4 Skinless Bone-in Chicken Breast halves
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Stuffing:
4 slices firm whole wheat bread
1/4 c finely chopped onion
1/4 c finely chopped celery
1 c chopped, peeled granny smith apple (1 med)
1/2 tsp fines herbs or 1/4 tsp each thyme and sage
1/4 c + 2T chicken broth

Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Tear bread into pieces and put in a blender and process into coarse crumbs.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add the onion, celery, apple, herbs and 2T chicken broth and place skillet over medium heat. Cover the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2 min. or until vegetables and apples start to soften. Remove from heat and toss in bread crumbs.

Tossing gently, slowly add enough of the remaining broth to make a moist but not wet stuffing that holds together. Set aside.

Coat a 9"x13" pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken in the pan with the bone side up. Mound a quarter of the stuffing into the depression of the breastbone of each piece of chicken. Spray the tops of the chicken lightly with cooking spray.

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 min. Remove the foil and bake for 20 additional minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

4 servings

248 cal, 3.1g fat, 82 mg chol, 2.9g fiber

Rants continued......

Zucchini Oven Chips

Zucchini Oven Chips


1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs (whole wheat)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
2 1/2 cups (1/4-inch-thick) slices zucchini (about 2 small)
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place milk in a shallow bowl. Dip zucchini slices in milk, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place coated slices on an ovenproof wire rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 61(28% from fat); FAT 1.9g (sat 1g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 3.8g; CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 87mg; SODIUM 231mg; FIBER 1g; IRON 0.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 7.6g

Linda Oldenburg
Cooking Light, AUGUST 2005

Rants continued......