Dijon-Crusted Chicken Breasts

From Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking



Ingredients:
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon reduced-fat margarine

Directions:
Place the first six ingredients in a shallow bowl. Brush chicken with mustard; roll in crumb mixture.

In a large skillet, cook chicken in oil and margarine over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Yield: 4 servings.

Comments:
I never get tired of a good chicken recipe. This has a good flavor combination and is kind of similar to the honey-mustard chicken I made previously. I still don't know about this pan frying thing though. All the breading always seems to fall off. Maybe it's just me...

Multigrain & Veggie Side Dish

From Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking



Ingredients:
2-2/3 cups water
2/3 cup uncooked long grain rice
2/3 cup quick-cooking barley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped (omitted)
1 small turnip, chopped (omitted)
1/2 cup chopped celery or celery root
1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot
2 tablespoons Crisco® Light Olive Oil
1 package (10 ounces) fresh spinach, torn
1 cup canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

Directions:
In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in the rice, barley and salt. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-18 minutes or until grains are tender. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes.

In a Dutch oven, saute the onion, carrots, red pepper, turnip, celery and ginger in oil until crisp-tender. Stir in the spinach, beans, soy sauce and rice mixture; cook and stir until heated through and spinach is wilted. Yield: 8 servings.

Comments:
This was not good. I'm not sure if it was the ginger, maybe the spinach was a little old. In any case, I couldn't even eat more than about three spoonfuls. I didn't subject Adam to it at all. I might try it again sometime, altering the recipe a little bit more to my tastes and ensuring the freshness of the ingredients.

Penne Chicken

From Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking September 2008. (Subscriber only recipe)



Ingredients:
water
wine or chicken broth (I used the broth)
chicken bouillon (I actually used part of a ramen noodle flavor packet)
chicken breasts
penne
mushrooms (left out)
sun-dried tomatoes (I used a seeded plum tomato)
shallot (I used onion)
cornstarch
milk
tomato paste
salt
Parmesan cheese
peas
basil

Comments:
Aside from all my substitutions or omissions I pretty much followed the recipe. Heh. It turned out really well and tasted great. I ate the leftovers already. All of them. I'd definitely make this again. Although perhaps I'd make sure the chicken wasn't frozen before I tried to poach it. Hmm. It might have gone faster that way...

Italian Spinach & Chicken Skillet

From Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking September 2008. (Subscriber only recipe)



Ingredients:
egg noodles
mushrooms (left out)
olive oil
garlic
diced tomatoes
cream of chicken soup
spaghetti sauce
chicken breast
spinach
Parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning
mozzarella cheese

Comments:
This was a great new dish to try. The flavor is varied and the texture is thick enough to eat with or without the noodle base. I, of course, like anything with chicken and noodles, but Adam's harder to convince. Even he liked this one. So score!