Roasted Chicken and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

476 calories of deliciousness

The holidays are busy for everyone, so sometimes it's nice to make a meal that keeps on giving and I love roasting a whole chicken for that very reason. I can make the leftovers stretch for days and days and that's going to make this week flow smoothly by. I hope.

This is my absolute favorite way to roast a chicken because everything goes in one pan and it makes the best mashed sweet potatoes I've ever had. I didn't even know I liked sweet potatoes until I realized you can eat them without drowning them in sugar and marshmallows. Peel a large sweet potato and cut it into half inch thick coins. Spread them out in the bottom of a greased glass baking dish and then top with thinly sliced onion rings.

I hope you're prepared to get your hands dirty. Starting with a good quality chicken with the skin on, very carefully slide your hands between the chicken and the meat and separate the two, taking care not to rip the skin. Make sure you do the entire chicken and really get down there and get into the wings, thighs, and drumsticks. Spread the flavor rub between the meat and the skin and if you have any left, don't forget the cavity, too. Place the chicken breast-side down on top of the onions and pour a tablespoon of white wine over the chicken. Pop it into the oven at 350F until a probe thermometer registers 145F in the meaty part of the thigh.

When your glorious bird hits 145F, flip it breast-side up using a pair of tongs. Continue cooking until it reaches 165F in the meaty part of the thigh. When you're done, you should have something that looks like this:

Remove the chicken to a cutting board. While it's sitting, use a slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes and onions to a blender. Puree until smooth and it's ready to serve. Now you can carve your chicken and serve it with the green veggie of your choice.

White Wine Chicken Rub

1 teaspoon dry tarragon
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine
1/2 cup chopped leek

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor until well combined.

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Chicken Sausage in White Wine Sauce

Sometimes I feel all Italian and need a big bowl of pasta, but I can only eat so many tomato-based sauces. I love the cheesy sauces, but not the calories or fat, so I decided to go with something light and refreshing. I have to say, I'm pretty happy with what I came up with. Everyone over here cleaned their plate!

Chicken Sausage in White Wine Sauce
Serves 4 at 346 calories each

4 ounces of uncooked pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound of mild Italian chicken sausage
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup sliced leeks
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon chicken base in 1 cup boiling water
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried tarragon

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions and set aside. Keep warm.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the whole sausage until nicely browned and set aside.
3. In the still-hot skillet, cook the garlic, leeks, and mushrooms for 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Add the white wine and cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. While it's cooking, slice the sausage into coins.
4. Add the sausage back to the pan and stir in the flour. Cook for 1 minute.
5. Stir in the chicken broth slowly. While stirring, bring to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes.
6. Stir in the salt and tarragon and serve over the pasta.

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Walnut-Rosemary Chicken and Mushroom Polenta

I was feeling fancy last night and I totally blame it on the new issue of Cooking Light that turned up in my mailbox earlier this week! I'm planning on hitting up my local grocery store today for ingredients for more inspired meals, but last night I dug around in my larder until I found enough stuff to make at least one thing.

The new favorite herb in this house is rosemary, so when I saw this recipe (link) I knew I had to make it. The only change I made to it was to use a 2 ounce chicken tenderloin pounded out into a cutlet because a 6 ounce chicken breast is too much meat for me. (We're all adults here, so no jokes) Oh, and I used black walnuts instead of boring old regular walnuts. If you've never had them, go buy a bag! The flavor is so complex that I don't even know how to explain it. They're bitter and sweet with a hint of cherry. (I guess I do know how)

If you've never had polenta before, it's just Italian yellow grits. I'll eat my weight in polenta, but I can't stand southern-style grits. I'm weird. Anywho, they're delicious and tasty and don't have to be drowning in butter to taste good.

Mushroom Polenta
Serves 4 at 132 calories each

2 cups water
1 teaspoon mushroom base (or vegetable base/bouillon)
1/2 cup dry polenta
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh mushrooms (I prefer shiitake, but portabello are also good)
1/4 cup garlic and herb feta cheese

1. Bring the water to a boil. Stir in the mushroom base and stir until combined. Reduce heat to medium and whisk in the polenta.
2. In a separate pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Cook the garlic, onion, and mushroom until caramelized. Add to the polenta.
3. Continue cooking the polenta for 25-30 more minutes, stirring very often. I like to cook mine in a stainless steel pot and I use a stainless steel whisk and leave the whisk in there and stir ever few minutes.
4. When the polenta is finished, mix in the feta cheese.
5. Enjoy!

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Cheesy Eggplant Casserole

I love eggplant, but I can only eat so much eggplant lasagna. I made this recipe up last night based on what I had in the fridge and what needed to be eaten. This happens a lot. Sometimes what I come up with doesn't work out all that well, but this turned out pretty tasty. It received the Alexander stamp of approval and he doesn't even like squash!

Cheesy Eggplant Casserole
Serves 4 and is 349 calories a slice

1 large egg
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon Italian herb blend
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 large eggplant, diced
1 medium yellow squash, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
2 small sweet yellow peppers, diced
1 cup Italian blend cheese
4 ounces chicken breast, diced
1/2 cup plain panko breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon peanut oil

1. Heat your oven to 375 and grease a glass lasagna pan.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the egg, ricotta, herbs, salt, and pepper. Add the onion, eggplant, squash, zucchini, peppers, cheese, and chicken. Stir until well combined and spread in the baking dish.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and oil. Sprinkle over the veggies.
4. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and cook until the breadcrumbs are nice and browned.

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Butternut Squash Risotto with Chicken, Kale, and Shiitake Mushrooms

I'm feeling creative tonight and this is what I came up with after tearing apart my kitchen. This week's produce delivery included lots of fall veggies, so stay tuned for more deliciousness! I think this is my favorite time of year, food-wise. Come to think of it, this is my favorite time of year weather-wise, too. Hooray for long-sleeves!

I guess it was good because Alexander licked his bowl clean, kale and all.

Butternut Squash Risotto with Chicken, Kale, and Shiitake Mushrooms
Serves 4 at 384 calories a serving

2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 teaspoon real maple syrup
1 teaspoon dry crushed rosemary
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry arborio rice
1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
4 cups fresh chopped kale (or baby spinach)
8 ounces cooked chicken breast, diced
1 tablespoon dry sherry
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup shredded Romano cheese

1. Steam the squash for 15 minutes or until soft. Puree in a food processor or blender with the maple syrup and rosemary and set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large high-sided pot on medium-high. Cook the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the rice and stir until coated in the oil. Add the mushrooms and kale and cook until the kale shrinks down some, about 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken, stir, then add the sherry.
3. Add the squash puree and stir. Reduce the heat to medium and add 1 cup of the chicken broth. Cook until absorbed (about 5 minutes) and then add another cup of the broth. Cook until all the broth is absorbed again, then add the rest of the broth. When that's fully absorbed, turn off the heat and stir in the cheese. Make sure you stir it quite a bit the whole time it's cooking, otherwise it will stick.
4. Serve and enjoy!

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Oven-Baked Chicken Fingers and Sweet Potato Fries

Today was a busy day for me, involving much running around and the occasional panic attack, so dinner tonight needed to be something easy. You can't really get much easier than these chicken fingers and fries! I buy frozen chicken tenderloins and I just thaw them out in the fridge overnight. When I'm in a pinch, I've been known to even thaw them out in the sink in a bowl if cool water. I also whipped up a pan of sauteed kale using the same recipe from a few nights ago. (Click here for kale)

I like to keep a container in my spice cabinet of my own blend of seasoned salt. I usually just throw a bunch of stuff together, but the main ingredients are sea salt, ground black pepper, paprika, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and onion powder. I usually just eyeball the amounts and no two batches ever taste exactly alike, but it's a nice change from plain old salt and pepper. This is what I used to season my sweet potato fries and I often use it in place of salt for an extra kick of flavor.


Chicken Fingers
Serves 3 and is 180 calories a serving

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 egg, beaten
12 ounces of thawed chicken tenderloins

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine the bread crumbs and oil.
3. Dip the chicken in the egg, then roll it in the bread crumb mix. Lay them out on a greased baking sheet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce! Me, I prefer barbecue sauce.

Sweet Potato Fries

Serves 3 and is 160 calories a serving

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into fries

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Toss together the sweet potatoes, olive oil, and seasoning. Lay out on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, flipping occasionally.

Time to Feed my Chinese Food Addiction

I really love American-style Chinese food. That's my comfort food. Even if I'm hungry an hour later, it's still my comfort food. So tonight I decided to make Anthony's favorite, cashew chicken, and my absolute favorite food in the entire world, steamed pot stickers. Is it possible to have satisfying Asian food without all the salt, msg, and fat? Yes!

For the pot stickers, I picked up a package of wonton wrappers in the produce section of my favorite local grocery store, Publix. I substituted green onion for the leeks because I forgot to buy them and I lined my steamer with cabbage leaves instead of making a carrot disk for them to sit on. The wrappers I bought must be a different size from whatever they used in the recipe and I ended up getting 36. These little suckers were pretty time-consuming to make, but I froze the extras so I can feed my addiction whenever the craving strikes. My version comes out at 46 calories per pot sticker, plus an extra 9 calories for a teaspoon of sauce.

I made a few changes to the cashew chicken, though. I added 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce, reduced the honey to 1 tablespoon, and reduced the sriracha to 1 teaspoon. I also left out the edamame and substituted green beans for the broccoli because that's what I had in the fridge. And, as always, I used brown rice instead of white rice because brown rice actually keeps me feeling full. With all my changes, it made a serving come out to 467 calories.

The verdict? Holy crap, I'm never ordering this stuff out again! The pot stickers were even better than the ones we used to get at our local Chinese restaurant and the cashew chicken was perfect. It had just the right amount of spicy. My next project will be to attempt some sort of healthy sesame chicken. Wish me luck!

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Feta-Stuffed Chicken, Beets and Sweets, and Kale, Oh My!

This is a family favorite over here. I think these three things make up Anthony's ideal meal and it's a perfect combination for a fall evening. These recipes all make enough to feed three, but they're easily adjusted to make as little or as much as you'd like. They don't have to be exact, so if you like to just throw ingredients together, go for it. I like to assemble the beets and sweets and stuff the chicken while Alexander is napping so that all I have to do is pop some stuff into the oven when Anthony gets home from work. And the kale seems to taste best made in a cast-iron skillet, but any kind of pan would work. It might just be me, though.

Feta-Stuffed Chicken
Makes 3 stuffed thighs, 273 calories each

2 tablespoons bread crumbs
2 tablespoons garlic and herb feta cheese crumbles
1 tablespoon peanut oil
3 boneless/skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon peanut oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine the first three ingredients in a bowl. Lay the chicken out on a cutting board with the smooth side down and spoon the filling over the chicken and roll them up.
3. Heat the peanut oil in an oven-proof skilled on medium high and carefully place the chicken rolls in oil, presentation side down. Cook about 4 minutes, flip, and cook another 4 minutes.
4. Slide the pan into the oven and cook for about 15 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer registers 165 for the filling.

Ready to Roll!

Into the fridge they go...

Oven-Roasted Beets and Sweet Potatoes

Serves 3, 155 calories each

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced (2" cubes)

1 medium red beet, peeled and diced (1" cubes)

3 small golden beets, peeled and diced (1" cubes)

1 small yellow onion, sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon crushed rosemary

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 425.
2. Combine all ingredients and place in a glass baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until everything is toasty looking and soft, stirring once.

Sauteed Kale

Serves 3, 118 calories each

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 bunch of kale, chopped

1/2 cup chicken broth (I use 1/2 tsp Better than Bouillon chicken base dissolved in half a cup boiling water)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1. Heat the oil in a cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat.
2. Saute the onion until translucent. Add the kale and saute for another 5 or so minutes. Add the chicken broth and vinegar and cook until most of the liquid is dissolved.

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Today's Healthy Meal

The other day I was stuck in line at the grocery store behind some woman trying to do some sort of complex maneuvering involving paying with credit cards, cash, ebt, shiny beads, and sand dollars. So what did I do? I grabbed the nearest magazine, which happened to be Cooking Light. I'm in love! My subscription is ordered and I'm cooking my way from cover to cover.
Tonight I made roasted chicken with a mustard-thyme sauce and oven-roasted kuri squash and brussels sprouts. I must say, I was very impressed! Delicious, healthy, and very filling. My entire meal, including a spinach salad and a double helping of the veggies, clocked in under 600 calories.

For the veggies, I tossed one peeled and diced kuri squash, 24 brussels sprouts, and one sliced yellow onion with a tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 teaspoon dry rosemary.

For the chicken (recipe) I mostly followed the recipe, but used 1 teaspoon of chicken base dissolved in 1 cup of boiling water for the stock, omitted the butter, used 1 teaspoon of dry thyme, and used 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder. I also halfed the amount of chicken because two thighs per person is a bit much. I'm not sure how they came up with their calorie count, though, because I come up with 320 calories for one thigh with sauce and they claim two thighs with sauce is only 246. They must have magic low-cal thighs out where they live.

All in all, it was a tasty meal and I'll definitely make it again. Alexander especially loved the squash. Brussels sprouts, not so much.

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