Chicken and Artichoke Packet

After eating a cheeseburger on a donut bun I needed to get back to smarter eating. Not that I regret that sandwich for one second but the scale definitely reminded me that what happens in San Francisco does not stay in San Francisco. So I busted out one of my old favorites, a Weight Watchers cookbook I picked up at Goodwill.


This is another foil pack recipe, which I love because there is nothing to clean up after. I cut this recipe down to one serving. Preheat your oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees and lets get started.


The ingredients are, beans, carrots, chicken, seasoning, artichoke and Italian dressing. The best thing about recipes like this is you can just take the basic idea and use whatever you want. I don't like fennel so I just used cabbage instead. I also had some white beans already in the fridge so I just used those. The only prep you need to do is to chop your veggies.


Literally all you have to do is lay down the chicken and pile the rest of the ingredients on top. The hardest part of this recipe is folding the packet.


Folded up tight and ready to cook. Put it in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. The best thing is there is nothing to clean up so you can use that half hour to read a book or sit outside and enjoy the summer weather because it will be gone too soon!


Cut a few holes in the foil when it is done to let some of the steam escape. Once the packet has cooled a bit get your chicken out and you are ready to eat.


This was so packed with flavor and only took a few minutes to prep. Eating smarter doesn't have to be expensive or difficult, and it doesn't have to be boring and bland. I will be going back to this cookbook more often for the rest of the Summer.

Have a great week!

Weight Watchers Chicken With Broccoli and Oranges

I have definitely been on an Asian food kick since having the delicious peanut chicken dish in San Fran. I was craving something a little sweet and savory and found this recipe in an old Weight Watchers cookbook. This took no time to make and definitely cured my craving.




I cut this recipe pretty much in half. You need stock, corn starch, OJ, broccoli, oranges, tamari or soy sauce, ginger and chicken. I used canned mandarin oranges instead of fresh.


Mix your cornstarch and water. This is called a slurry!


Measure the stock, soy sauce, and OJ. I did not have fresh ginger so I just put the dried ginger in with the sauce.


Chop your broccoli, I did this the night before.


Chop your chicken.


Lets cook! Get the oil heated in a pan. Again, I skipped using fresh ginger so I went straight to cooking the chicken. Cut this small it only takes a few minutes to cook.


Once cooked, get the chicken out of there.


Drop in the broccoli with some water and pop the lid on for about 3 minutes.


Return the chicken to the pan with the sauce mixture and give it a stir. Bring it up to boiling.


Stir in the slurry and let it thicken. Can you believe that it is this easy? Well, it is.


Stir in the oranges and you are ready to eat.


Delicious, fast and easy. That is a trifecta in my opinion.

What is your favorite Asian dish and have you ever made it at home?

Crunchy Chicken Fingers with Spicy Avocado

I have been on a big avocado kick this year and have been eating it at least once a week. I was looking through my Robin Miller cookbook and came across this quick and low fat recipe and knew I would have to give it a try.


I made this just for me as Tom still thinks chicken is totally gross.

Preheat your oven and gather some ingredients.

You will need some chicken, avocado, lime, bread crumbs, hot sauce, hot peppers, sour cream, garlic powder, oregano, paprika, thyme (I forgot it!), cilantro - if you are one of those people, salt and pepper.


Slice your chicken.


Combine your bread crumbs with the spices and the salt and pepper.


Dredge your chicken through the bread crumbs to get it evenly coated.


Drop the chicken on to pan coated with non stick spray or use the wonderful non-stick foil that I love. Get these guys in the oven for 20 minutes.


Chop up your peppers. I used some sport peppers and they were HOT!


Combine the avocado, sour cream, hot sauce, lime juice and hot peppers together. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. If you are one of those cilantro eating people you can add that in at the end as well.


After 20 minutes get your chicken out. It didn't brown as much as I wanted but it was cooked through.


Plate up the chicken with the avocado and enjoy! This sauce can be used with a bunch of different things and would be delicious on a turkey burger or fish tacos. The chicken was seasoned well and crunchy, but the sauce was definitely the star for me.

Mustard Chicken Wings

The 4th of July is probably my favorite holiday. I love fireworks and I love grilling up burgers and hot dogs. I also love tasty appetizers and these Mustard Wings really are simple but packed with flavor. You can do them in the broiler pretty quickly or at a slower temperature depending on your schedule so they really are a great way to get food out for guests without having to do a lot of work.





We have nothing to preheat or prep at the moment because you want to let the chicken marinate for a while ahead of time. I let mine go for about 2 hours. Time to gather ingredients and get that started.


You will need spicy mustard, chicken wings, hot sauce, garlic, olive oil, lemon, and some pepper.


Combine everything together and add a pinch of salt if you'd like.


Put the chicken in a bag with the wings and toss it in the fridge and forget about it for a while.


Preheat your oven or broiler and get the chicken down on a pan. I like to use a wire rack over some foil so the wings get nice and crispy. Pop them in the oven and follow instructions for either the broiler or the oven method. I used the oven at 375 degrees.


The recipe has you basting with the marinade, it is important you do your last baste with at least 5-10 minutes of cooking left to kill anything lurking from the chicken.


Getting delicious!


These were super easy and full of flavor. It is a nice change from burgers and hot dogs or a fun and simple appetizer. I hope you are all having a great week!

Pineapple Basil Chicken

This recipe comes from the cookbook called Thai Cooking and More that I picked up at a book outlet years ago. Every recipe I have tried from this book has been a winner, including this simple but delicious Pineapple Basil Chicken. I cut this recipe in half.




For this recipe you will need, chicken, pineapple, corn starch, a hot pepper, oil, garlic, basil, cashews, soy sauce and fish sauce.


The most important part of making a successful stir fry is to have everything measured and ready to cook before you even turn on a burner. Measure out your pineapple, juice and nuts.


Mix the corn starch with the pineapple juice.


Chop your pepper and your green onion.


Chop your basil, garlic and chicken.


Once everything is staged near the stove, you can start cooking.


First things in the pan are the chicken, garlic and hot pepper. Stir fry these for 3-4 minutes.


Once the chicken is cooked, add in the green onion for another minute.


Stir in the pineapple and cornstarch mixture and stir until it thickens.


Add in the pineapple, cashews, basil, fish sauce and soy sauce. Let this cook for another minute or two and you are ready to eat!


Delicious and so simple. You could easily do this with mandarin oranges as well. I am definitely going to experiment more with this dish and make more recipes from that cookbook.