Mediterranean Roast Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

 Ingredients:

• 2 oz. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 oz. white wine
• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp. chopped rosemary, oregano, thyme, & marjoram
• 1 tbsp. chopped minced garlic
• 1 whole chicken, giblets and fats removed
• 1 cup carrots, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 2 cups fennel, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 2 cups celery root, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

Makes 4-6 Servings (4 oz. chicken & 1 cup vegetables per serving)

1. Place a shallow roasting pan with a rack in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2. Combine 1 ounce of oil, wine, mustard, herbs, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. 
3. Gently loosen the skin from the breast and legs of the chicken, being careful not to tear the skin. Rub 3/4 of the herb mixture underneath the skin of the chicken. Rub the remaining 1/4 all over the skin. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. 
4. Place the chicken on the rack in the roasting pan in the oven. Cook for 10 minutes. 
5. Toss the vegetables with 1 ounce oil. Place around the chicken in the bottom of the pan. Every 10-15 minutes, baste the chicken with the juices and fat that have accumulated in the bottom of the pan, and turn the vegetables. Roast another 45-50 minutes until the juice runs clear or until the chicken is 165 F at the thigh or about 160 F at the breast. 
6. Let rest in a warm place for 15 minutes before carving. 

WW POINTS VALUE: 7 pts. 

Note: This recipe appears in the New Sonoma Cookbook. Roast chicken and vegetables are a wonderful comfort food when they are done properly. The combination of white wine, olive oil, Dijon mustard, herbs and garlic makes roast chicken and vegetables an elegant comfort dinner to be served on fine dishes. Basting the chicken while it cooks will give the chicken an even color and keep the skin moist. You can use pork tenderloin, turkey, and any kind of white fish in this recipe and the dish will still be decadent and delicious. If you want to make this dish fully complete, serve 1/2 cup of whole-grain or brown rice. 

Summer Vegetable Barley Risotto

Ingredients:

• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 3/4 cups pearl barley
• 1/2 cup white wine (optional)
• 5 cups hot vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes 
• 2 cups green vegetables of your choice
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Makes 4 Servings

1. In a large skillet, sauté the onions in the olive oil until golden. Add garlic and cook until aromatic. Add barley and stir to coat. Add wine and reduce until dry.
2. Add about 1 cup of hot stock and the bay leaf to barley, just enough to come to the top of the grain. Cook over medium heat until liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally. (This should take about 5 minutes. If the liquid absorbs too quickly, reduce the heat.) Repeat with 4 more cups of hot stock, adding 1 cup at a time and cooking until all the liquid is absorbed before adding more, stirring occasionally. This should take about 35 minutes.
3. Stir in the vegetables; cook until the barley is slightly creamy and just tender. This should take about 15 minutes. Increase heat slightly if the mixture is too wet. Just before serving, remove the bay leaf; stir in the greens and allow to wilt. Stir in the cheese and zest. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

WW POINTS VALUE: 8 pts. 

Note: This recipe appears in the New Sonoma Diet Cookbook. Risotto is a delicious comfort food when it is done right. This is another version of the barley risotto and it's quite tasty. I used the combination of asparagus and tomatoes and it was very tasty, succulent and juicy. You can enjoy your risotto in the summer with the right vegetables. 

Goat Cheese & Arugula-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. soft reduced-fat goat cheese, cut into pieces
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 4 (6 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 bunch arugula (3 oz.), trimmed and coarsely chopped
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup lower-sodium chicken broth

Makes 4 Servings

1. In a small bowl, stir together the cheese and garlic.
2. Using a sharp knife, cut a horizontal slit through the thickest portion of each chicken breast to form a deep pocket. Stuff each pocket with an equal amount of the cheese mixture and the arugula. Press the edges of the pocket together to seal. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
3. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4 minutes per side, or until lightly browned. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the broth, cover, and simmer for about 6 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked through and still juicy. With a slotted spatula transfer to 4 serving plates. Serve hot.

WW POINTS VALUE: 6 pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Super Quick Cookbook. This is another delicious chicken dinner that's a great way to kick-start your healthy lifestyle. I've had different variations and I must say this was the creamiest version. The goat cheese mixed in with the arugula make this so creamy. You can use spinach or any other mixed greens in this dish and it will still be yummy. You can also add some of your favorite herbs in the cheese mixture such as basil, oregano or parsley to add a little more flavor. You can also use white wine in place of the chicken broth or a combination of wine and broth as well. I highly recommend topping the chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto for an authentic Italian flare. 

Chicken Cassoulet

Ingredients:

• 6 (6-oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 small rutabagas or turnips, peeled and diced (1 1/4 lbs.)
• 3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp unsalted tomato paste
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 (15.5 oz.) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can unsalted diced tomatoes
• 1 cup lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Makes 6 Servings

1. Heat oven to 425 F.
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
3. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add rutabagas, carrots, celery and thyme, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Increase heat to medium-high and add wine. Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a simmer. Transfer to a cassoulet to a large casserole dish and bake until browned and bubbling, 30-35 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.
    

WW POINTS VALUE: 6 pts

 

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Parties & Holidays Cookbook. Just because it's cold outside, it doesn't mean you can throw a delicious and colorful dinner party. I have come to really love French food and this dish is so comforting, colorful and deliciously filling. A cassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked casserole dish orginating in the rustic, southern French country that usually contains pork sausages, goose, duck and sometimes mutton, pork skin and white haricot beans. The chicken was cooked beautifully, the vegetables added color and flavor to the dish and the wine gave this dish a nice aftertaste. You can use chicken or turkey in this dish to trim the fat in this dish. This was the first time I ate a rutabaga and it was really delicious with the beans, carrots, celery, tomatoes and onions. This was such a delicious meal I would immeadiately eat this again. This is a time comsuming dish but it is worth the time and effort.

 



Barbecue Salmon-Asian Fusion Style

Ingredients:

• Salmon:
• 1 1/2 lbs. skin-on salmon fillet ([4] 6 oz. fillets)
• 3/4 cup prepared barbecue sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp finely chopped scallions
• 1 tsp finely grated ginger
• Chives, chopped, for garnish

•  Vegetables:
• 1/2 head napa cabbage
• 1/2 head radicchio
• 1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. oyster mushrooms, chopped
• 1 cup sake or white wine
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
 
• Chinese Mustard Sauce:
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• Dash of mustard powder
• 1/8 tsp Dijon mustard
• 3/4 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp finely chopped scallions
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Makes 4 Servings

To make the salmon:

1. Preheat the grill. Leave skin on salmon if desired.
2. Place the barbecue sauce, vinegar, scallions and ginger in a blender and mix.
3. Start grilling the salmon to the desired doneness and baste with barbecue sauce mixture as grilling. (If you like the skin, first grill skin side down until the skin is crispy, then turn over and continue basting with barbecue sauce mixture.)

To make the Vegetables:

Take out the hard bottom center of the greens. Chiffonade the greens. Heat a saute pan over high heat. Add the oil and saute the cabbage, radicchio and mushrooms quickly. (They should stay crisp.) Before taking the vegetables out of the pan, deglaze the pan with the sake or white wine. Add salt and pepper.

To make the Chinese Mustard Sauce:

Place the mayonnaise, mustard powder, Dijon mustard, vinegar, scallion, and salt and pepper to taste in a blender and mix.

To plate:

Place sauteed vegetables in the center of each plate. Put five dots of Chinese Mustard Sauce around the vegetables. Place the salmon on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle the plates with chopped chives.

 

WW POINTS VALUE: 12 PTS

 Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Cookbook. I wanted to clean out some of the food in the fridge and I have looked at this recipe so many times I had to try it for dinner tonight. This dish appears on the menu of China Grill in Miami courtesy of Chef Keyvan Behnam.  China Grill has been a Miami hot spot since it opened in 1995 and offers "World Fusion" cuisine. The picture of this dish is beautiful and I wanted to replicate it but it didn't go that way. However, the taste of this dish is delicious and you can taste the world fusion of East-Meets-West with the Chinese flavors with the white wine and barbecue sauce and mustard. The salmon was also delicious and cooked beautifully. My mom doesn't like to eat salmon but she enjoyed this dish. I just loved how the barbecue sauce blended with the mustard sauce and how the white wine vegetables and salmon melted in your mouth. It really was funky fusion in your mouth. I highly recommend this dish on a weekend dinner or for a special occasion because this dish is worth the time and effort. It may look like a lot but it's very simple to make. Thank you Chef Keyvan Behman. I look forward to your other recipes as well. 

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 2 cups of water
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon cube, crumbled
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3 tbsp flour
• 5 oz. fat-free evaporated milk
• 1 cup white corn
• 6 sheets of phyllo dough

Makes 6 Servings

1. Place chicken, water, wine and bouillon cubes in a medium saucepan> Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook gently, uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Set aside one cup of  broth and chop chicken into chunks.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Coat a deep 8-inch pie dish with cooking spray.
3. Microwave carrots and peas for 2 minutes. Drain. Heat oil in a medium nonstick pan, add onions and cook until soft. Stir in flour and cook over low heat for 2 minutes.
4. Remove pan from  heat and stir in milk and reserved broth. Return to heat and cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens. Add carrots, peas, chicken and corn.
5. Pour chicken mixture into prepared pie dish. Layer sheets of phyllo dough over pie, trim edges and press down firmly to seal.  Lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes, lower temperature to 350 F and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes more.

WW Points Value: 5

Note: This recipe came from http://www.weightwatchers/ .com. I've been making this recipe for over a year now and it's always delish.