Why is it that anything with the name Florentine in it sounds delicious? I guess one would have to love spinach for that to be a true statement, but I do love spinach, and I do love florentine dishes. This recipe, Chicken Florentine, from In a Flash, had all kinds of promise, and in the end it wasn't too bad, but it was the stupidest recipe I've tried yet.
First of all, and this was my fault, it calls for 10 oz. of spinach. It doesn't specifically say fresh, but it's implied. Of course, I had frozen spinach, and didn't realize it until it was almost time to add the spinach. So I had to defrost it quickly, and then squeeze all the liquid out of it. Then, at the last minute, I realized I didn't have enough spinach, so I had to repeat the process. Well, you cook the chicken, and move it to a plate. Then you saute the onions with a little chicken broth. But there just isn't enough liquid so you have to add water Then you add the spinach. But it's dry now, after all that squeezing. So, what do you have to do? Add more water , and then more water, and then even more water. Did I mention the spinach is squeezed? Well, that results in clumps of spinach. So while you're busily trying to keep enough water in the pan to keep the spinach and onions from burning, you have to de-clump the spinach. Finally, it was time to add the chicken to the top of the spinach (you'll still need more water) and cheese on top of the chicken. The problem with the cheese was that it calls for lowfat shredded Jarlsberg or Swiss. I defy anyone to easily find lowfat Jarlseberg cheese. In fact, we couldn't even find lowfat shredded Swiss, so we used Swiss slices. You cover the pan until the cheese melts, and what do you know? You have Chicken Floretine...with lots of liquid because the cover makes the spinach lose some of its liquid (the same way mushrooms do).
As I said before, in the end it was a tasty dinner. But I sure griped and swore through the whole preparation. I served it with instant mashed potatoes. I'm tellin' you, if you haven't tried those, you should - they're a marvel of modern fast food!
By the way, the chicken florentine was only 5 points per serving - and I earned everyone of those points!
Showing posts with label Chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicken. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Chicken and Mushrooms
Finally the run of bad recipes has ended! Monday night I made Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms from In a Flash and it was very good. Quick, easy, low points (only 4 per serving). What more could a cooker/dieter hope for?
All it took was a quick marinade of balsamic vinegar, cook the chicken and then saute the mushrooms. What could be easier?
Here's the bad part - don't ever buy the Kashi that comes in the foil packet that only takes 60-90 seconds to cook in the microwave. Sorry - I don't have more information than that. I can tell you, however, that it was really awful. In fact, we threw it away! Wasteful, I know. I also know there are children starving in Ethiopia. But the truth of the matter is that they wouldn't eat it either!
I'll have to add that to my ever growing list of things not to eat. It ranks right up there with bananas, in my mind.
And on that note...
All it took was a quick marinade of balsamic vinegar, cook the chicken and then saute the mushrooms. What could be easier?
Here's the bad part - don't ever buy the Kashi that comes in the foil packet that only takes 60-90 seconds to cook in the microwave. Sorry - I don't have more information than that. I can tell you, however, that it was really awful. In fact, we threw it away! Wasteful, I know. I also know there are children starving in Ethiopia. But the truth of the matter is that they wouldn't eat it either!
I'll have to add that to my ever growing list of things not to eat. It ranks right up there with bananas, in my mind.
And on that note...
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
I'm Back!
I'm discovering there is a direct correlation between how often I cook and blog, and my weight loss success. You may have noticed that I've been very lax in blogging, and that's mostly because I haven't been cooking. And what's happened? I've gained some pounds again. Apparently I didn't listen to myself last time I wrote when I said I was going to get back on the wagon again. So, I'm giving it another try. One thing I've learned is that it's never too late to start, or restart, if that's the case.
As for cooking, last week I made something that turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It was Cheddar Chicken with Warm Black Bean Salsa from In a Flash. It's billed as enchiladas without the tortillas, but it's really more like chicken with cheese, beans, and tomatoes. But it was really tasty! Only 5 points per serving, and quick. It's a 15-minute dinner recipe. I would highly recommend this one. However, don't forget to watch the points in the accompaniments. My preference would be to serve rice or tortillas, (or better yet, rice and tortillas), but that adds unnecessary points. They suggest spinach and grapefruit salad and diced mango with raspberries for dessert. Much healthier and points-friendly, but I'd rather have tortillas any day!
Tonight I'm going to make lentils and rice. And I'll try to be more prompt with my blogging!
As for cooking, last week I made something that turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It was Cheddar Chicken with Warm Black Bean Salsa from In a Flash. It's billed as enchiladas without the tortillas, but it's really more like chicken with cheese, beans, and tomatoes. But it was really tasty! Only 5 points per serving, and quick. It's a 15-minute dinner recipe. I would highly recommend this one. However, don't forget to watch the points in the accompaniments. My preference would be to serve rice or tortillas, (or better yet, rice and tortillas), but that adds unnecessary points. They suggest spinach and grapefruit salad and diced mango with raspberries for dessert. Much healthier and points-friendly, but I'd rather have tortillas any day!
Tonight I'm going to make lentils and rice. And I'll try to be more prompt with my blogging!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Camping adventures!
It's going to take me a very long time to get through my three Weight Watchers cookbooks at the rate I'm cooking. Last week, I think I only cooked two meals! Thursday night I made Jalapeno Chicken from Day to Day. All I had to do was mix up a marinade of jalapeno peppers, chicken broth, cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper, and something else, but I don't remember what it was, and I didn't have to foresight to look before I left the house this morning. Then I blended it all until smooth, put it in a ziplock bag with the chicken, and left for work. Thursday night Manny grilled it on the grill (I'm not adding grilling to my new-found list of cooking skills) and we were good to go. It turned out to be very moist, and not too spicy. I was afraid it would have too much of a bite, since we used three jalapenos, but the kick was just right. I served it with rice and beans (specifically, white rice that I mixed with a can of black beans and some saffron thrown in for good measure). For those of you counting points, each chicken breast was 3 points. Very economical from a points perspective!
We went camping over the weekend. It was a fun trip - we spent all day Saturday at the river kayaking, swimming, reading, talking, dozing - a perfect day. However, at my age, one would think I would have learned about the use of sunscreen. I'm a little crackly today - hopefully I won't peel, but experience tells me that is too much to hope for. At least I had the good sense to use spf 45 on my face!
The only down side was showering. As with many campsites these days, showers are available, and after a long day in the river, they always seem like a good idea. However, by the time I gathered all my showering necessities and clothes together, headed to the shower, realized I forgot something, and returned to the campsite before setting off to the bathrooms once again, reality began to set in. I had plenty of time to think while I was waiting in line for the next available shower because there were only two, and others had the same idea as me - shower early and beat the rush. Please let me share my showering thoughts with you. First of all, doesn't everyone want to shower in the same place as hundreds of strangers? Did I remember my flipflops? Yes, thank goodness! Once it was finally my turn, then it was time for the balancing act. I had to balance on first one foot and then the other while undressing without touching anything in the shower, and I then hung my clothes...all of them (the clean ones and the dirty ones I just took off)...together... on one little hook in the shower and hope that the water didn't get everything wet. As it turns out, not a problem, because the water pressure was so low that I had to bend down to get my head right under the spout and then stand up to let the water run down the rest of my body. Repeat for maximum dampness. With the water pressure a trickle, I had to be sure not to use too much shampoo, because I would be there all day if I needed to wait for enough water to rinse the shampoo, and then conditioner completely out of my hair. Then, the balancing act started all over again, because after drying off, without touching the shower floor with the towel (thankfully the towel hadn't already fallen off the one little hook!), I had to manipulate the clothes on the one little hook so I could get dressed in my clean clothes. Next it was gather everything up and move to the sink where I could balance (again, that word) everything on a skinny little shelf while I brushed my teeth and combed my hair. Of course, everyone I know (because this is a group trip) came into the bathroom while my mouth was full of toothpaste and wanted to talk. Makes NOT showering on Saturday and Sunday morning seem like a much better alternative!
And let me say this - when the bathrooms are a ways away, why is it that we have to use them several times during the night? The first night, I didn't go at all because I didn't want to walk all that way by myself and I didn't have the heart to wake Manny up and ask him to go with me. So, I didn't sleep a good part of the night. Not very smart. So Saturday night, I stopped drinking water early, walked down to the bathroom just before climbing into my tent, walked back to camp, said goodnight and went to sleep. Manny came in at about midnight, and crawled into the sleeping bag, waking me up in the process. Of course, my first thought was about whether or not I had to go. I finally decided not to make the same mistake I had made the night before and so I made Manny get up...
And on that note, tonight it's pork chops. I'll keep you posted.
We went camping over the weekend. It was a fun trip - we spent all day Saturday at the river kayaking, swimming, reading, talking, dozing - a perfect day. However, at my age, one would think I would have learned about the use of sunscreen. I'm a little crackly today - hopefully I won't peel, but experience tells me that is too much to hope for. At least I had the good sense to use spf 45 on my face!
The only down side was showering. As with many campsites these days, showers are available, and after a long day in the river, they always seem like a good idea. However, by the time I gathered all my showering necessities and clothes together, headed to the shower, realized I forgot something, and returned to the campsite before setting off to the bathrooms once again, reality began to set in. I had plenty of time to think while I was waiting in line for the next available shower because there were only two, and others had the same idea as me - shower early and beat the rush. Please let me share my showering thoughts with you. First of all, doesn't everyone want to shower in the same place as hundreds of strangers? Did I remember my flipflops? Yes, thank goodness! Once it was finally my turn, then it was time for the balancing act. I had to balance on first one foot and then the other while undressing without touching anything in the shower, and I then hung my clothes...all of them (the clean ones and the dirty ones I just took off)...together... on one little hook in the shower and hope that the water didn't get everything wet. As it turns out, not a problem, because the water pressure was so low that I had to bend down to get my head right under the spout and then stand up to let the water run down the rest of my body. Repeat for maximum dampness. With the water pressure a trickle, I had to be sure not to use too much shampoo, because I would be there all day if I needed to wait for enough water to rinse the shampoo, and then conditioner completely out of my hair. Then, the balancing act started all over again, because after drying off, without touching the shower floor with the towel (thankfully the towel hadn't already fallen off the one little hook!), I had to manipulate the clothes on the one little hook so I could get dressed in my clean clothes. Next it was gather everything up and move to the sink where I could balance (again, that word) everything on a skinny little shelf while I brushed my teeth and combed my hair. Of course, everyone I know (because this is a group trip) came into the bathroom while my mouth was full of toothpaste and wanted to talk. Makes NOT showering on Saturday and Sunday morning seem like a much better alternative!
And let me say this - when the bathrooms are a ways away, why is it that we have to use them several times during the night? The first night, I didn't go at all because I didn't want to walk all that way by myself and I didn't have the heart to wake Manny up and ask him to go with me. So, I didn't sleep a good part of the night. Not very smart. So Saturday night, I stopped drinking water early, walked down to the bathroom just before climbing into my tent, walked back to camp, said goodnight and went to sleep. Manny came in at about midnight, and crawled into the sleeping bag, waking me up in the process. Of course, my first thought was about whether or not I had to go. I finally decided not to make the same mistake I had made the night before and so I made Manny get up...
And on that note, tonight it's pork chops. I'll keep you posted.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Note to Self: Don't Open That Menu!
I'm very happy to report that after a weekend fraught with pitfalls, my 7 lbs. are still lost! I don't know why or how, considering my meal choices over the weekend, but I'm not complaining. It all started smoothly enough, and then my whole eating plan went to hell in a hand-basket on Saturday morning. I started the day with a bowl of oatmeal - harmless enough, right - just needed something to give me energy to get moving. But then I met my friend a couple of hours later for breakfast. I was just going to have a cup of coffee and an english muffin. But I made the mistake of opening the menu and two words that I love to see jumped right off the menu - BREAKFAST BURRITO. So I ate again - breakfast burrito with chorizo, no less! What was I thinking? I figured I would offset some of the chorizo fat by having egg whites instead of whole eggs - how silly of me. That burrito reminded it was there for the rest of the day. Finally, at about 8:00 that night, I had a small salad, but I was so hungry by the time we got back to the room at 11:30 that I ordered room service and ate a chicken sandwich - yes, at 11:30 at night! Again, what was I thinking? So on Sunday, I started repairing the damage, and herein lies the answer. We all fall down, but then we have to pick ourselves up again and continue with our program. No looking back. So, that's what I did. And look - I can't find those 7 lbs!
Anyway, I was anxious to have a nutritional meal last night, I think as a result of my poor eating on Saturday, and my irregular eating on Friday. So I made Lemon-Caper Chicken from In a Flash. This was one of the best things I've cooked so far. This and the linguine and clam sauce are my favorites. There were no problems, no hazards (no chopping), and no drama. My kind of cooking experience! I served it with Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil Couscous (pre-packaged) and peas.
On a different note, I met a woman over the weekend who said she lost 60 lbs. on Weight Watchers, and I thought, "If she can do that, I certainly can lose my measly 15-25 lbs." She's accomplished quite a feat - she's an inspiration!
Anyway, I was anxious to have a nutritional meal last night, I think as a result of my poor eating on Saturday, and my irregular eating on Friday. So I made Lemon-Caper Chicken from In a Flash. This was one of the best things I've cooked so far. This and the linguine and clam sauce are my favorites. There were no problems, no hazards (no chopping), and no drama. My kind of cooking experience! I served it with Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil Couscous (pre-packaged) and peas.
On a different note, I met a woman over the weekend who said she lost 60 lbs. on Weight Watchers, and I thought, "If she can do that, I certainly can lose my measly 15-25 lbs." She's accomplished quite a feat - she's an inspiration!
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