Grilled Buttermilk Chicken

I love summer grilling.  Our previous grill died on us last summer, and we'd been putting off buying a new one.  I got me one of those stove-top grill pans, but it's just not the same thing.  So last month we bought a new grill and if you've noticed a decrease in my posts it's because of that.  I don't really have grill recipes.  I just take the steaks or chicken breasts or shrimp or whatever, sprinkle some TSSS and maybe some TSGG on it, rub it with some EVOO, and slap it on the grill.  Lots of flavor for minimal work.

I was searching the Web a few weeks ago for new chicken recipes and came across this.  Grilled Buttermilk Chicken.  Having lived in the South (Alabama and Tennessee) for umpteen years, I'm very familiar with buttermilk FRIED chicken.  But grilled?  I was intrigued.

The original recipe calls for bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces.  But of course that's a no-no on the South Beach Diet.  I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which I butterflied and cut through in half so I had thinner slices that would grill up more quickly.  It was perfect - flavorful, juicy and delicious.

The only catch is that the buttermilk marinade does make the grill a little messy.  But oh so worth it.

Grilled Buttermilk Chicken
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1.5 cup lowfat buttermilk (enough to cover your chicken pieces)
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped (or 2 tablespoons Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic)
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and cut all the way through so you have 8 thinner pieces

Directions:

• In a bowl, combine the buttermilk, garlic, paprika and TSSS to taste.
• Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat completely.
• Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• When ready to grill, pre-heat the grill to medium-high.  Grill the chicken for 7-10 minutes on each side, until cooked through.  Discard any remaining marinade.

Honey Soy Grilled Salmon

This was so delish.  I bet the salmon would still be good with just the glaze (without the herb stuffing).  I bet the glaze would be good on chicken too.  Mmm mmm good!

Honey Soy Grilled Salmon
Taken directly from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 4 6-oz. center cut wild salmon filets with skin on
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons honey (use agave nectar to be completely SBD-legal)
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce

Directions:

• Pre-heat grill to medium-high heat.
• In a small bowl, combine cilantro, scallions, olive oil, ginger, and TSSS to taste.  Set aside.
• On a cutting board, place the salmon filets skin-side down.  Using a sharp knife, cut a slit down the middle of each filet, lengthwise.
• Divide the herb mixture and stuff into the slit of each salmon filet.
• In a separate bowl mix the lime juice, honey and soy sauce.  Brush this glaze generously on top of each stuffed filet.
• Grill the stuffed filets, skin-side up, for 3-4 minutes.  Turn the fish over (skin-side down), brush with glaze again, and grill an additional 3-4 minutes until it is cooked through.
• Remove the skin (it will peel off very easily) and serve hot.

Chicken Veggie Alfredo

I modified Ellie's recipe only because I don't like leaving half-opened cans of evaporated milk around.  Half a box of fettuccine, ok, but not half a can of milk.  Half a box (8 oz.) of fettuccine because it's easier for me to eyeball than the 12 oz. per Ellie's recipe.  That plus added veggies and beans makes plenty for our family of 2 adults and a toddler, with leftovers for lunch the next day.  I grilled the chicken because the weather was beautiful today and I wanted to play outside. I increased the amount of sauce because many reviewers recommended that about Ellie's recipe, and I doubled the veggies and added some beans.  The magical fruit, right?  ;-)  The results were scrumptious.

Chicken Veggie Alfredo
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces (1/2 pound or 1/2 box) of whole wheat fettuccine
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced and divided
• 2 zucchini, thinly sliced into half-moons
• 2 broccoli crowns, chopped into bite-size pieces and blanched
• 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1 cup cold fat free milk
• 1 (12 oz.) can of fat free evaporated milk
• 1 cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese
• 1 (15 oz.) can of great northern beans, drained

Directions:

• Prepare the fettuccine per instructions on the box.  Drain, reserving some of the pasta water, and set aside.
• Season both sides of chicken breasts with TSSS and grill until fully cooked.  Once cooled enough to handle, slice the cooked chicken and set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté 1 minced clove of garlic with the zucchini and blanched broccoli for a few minutes until the zukes are soft and the broccoli is slightly firm.  Transfer veggies to a plate and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, fat free milk and fat free evaporated milk.
• Return the empty skillet to medium-high heat and add in the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 minced clove of garlic, stirring for 30 seconds until fragrant.
• Add the flour-milk mixture to the skillet and bring to a boil, stirring often.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for a couple of minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.  Add the cheese and TSSS to taste and stir until the cheese is melted.
• Toss in the sliced chicken, veggies, beans and cooked pasta.  Add some of the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce as necessary.
• Serve hot.

Garlic Shrimp and Chickpeas

Garlic Shrimp and Chickpeas
Taken from this recipe.


Ingredients:

• 2 15-oz. cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Toss chickpeas with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and TSSS to taste.  Pour into a rectangular baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes until they are golden.
• In the meantime, toss shrimp with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, TSSS, TSGG and lemon zest and let sit to marinate for at least 10 minutes.
• After they have baked for 20 minutes, remove the dish of chickpeas from the oven and place the shrimp on top.  Return to the oven and continue baking for 8-10 minutes until shrimp are completely pink and cooked through.
• Sprinkle with lemon juice before serving.

Chicken and Mushrooms

This is a spin on Paula Deen's Chicken Georgia recipe.  I really can't justify a half stick of butter going into anything (except maybe buttercream icing), so I replaced it with olive oil and Smart Balance.  I increased the amount of shallots and mushrooms because I love shrooms, and I added some white wine to create more sauce.  I also added a large pinch of thyme because I had it on hand.  YUM!

Chicken and Mushrooms
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• a couple tablespoons of olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• a couple tablespoons of Smart Balance
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• 2 medium shallots, minced
• 1 10-oz. bag (approx. 2 cups) of sliced crimini mushrooms
• large pinch of dried thyme
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 4 oz. freshly-grated part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Butterfly each chicken breast and cut straight through so you have 8 thinner pieces.  Season both sides of each piece with TSSS.  Place chicken in skillet and cook for a few minutes on each side until browned and cooked through.  Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium and add the Smart Balance to the skillet to melt it.
• Add the shallots, shrooms, thyme and TSSS and TSGG to season.  Sauté until everything is cooked and soft.
• Add the white wine to the skillet and deglaze, scraping up all the yummy brown bits at the bottom.  Move the mushrooms to the edges of the skillet and return the browned chicken to the center of the skillet.  Top the chicken with the shredded mozzarella.
• Turn off the heat and cover the skillet.  Let sit for a minute until cheese is melted.
• Plate the chicken, then pour the mushroom sauce mixture on top.

Massaged Kale Salad

Ok, as much as I love kale, I must admit I was quite apprehensive when my friend Dinah forwarded me this recipe.  Raw kale is YUCK.  Sautéed, great.  Baked into chips, great.  Boiled in soups and stews, great.  But until now, I would never have even entertained the idea of eating kale raw.

But curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to make a batch of this today (with a baggie of arugula salad in the fridge on stand-by).  And so I take back all my negative preconceptions of raw kale.  This salad is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS.  Did I already say DELICIOUS?

Even the hubs, who was a meat-and-potatoes guy when I met him 13 years ago, ate every single bite I put on his plate.  So thank you, thank you Dinah.

The only changes I made to the original recipe were to 1. omit the cayenne because I don't like spicy, and 2. added a little bit of shaved parmesan because, well, I love cheese.  Oh, and I toasted the pine nuts first.

Massaged Kale Salad
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 large handful of pine nuts
• 1 large bunch of kale
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• several turns of the black pepper grinder
• freshly-shaved parmesan

Directions:

• Spread the pine nuts on a small baking sheet and toast in the toaster oven for a couple of minutes until it begins to turn light brown.  Remove and set aside.
• Wash and spin-dry the kale, remove the thick middle stem, and chop or tear the leaves into bite-size pieces.
• Place kale, olive oil, lemon juice and salt into a large bowl.  Massage the kale with your hands for a minute until it becomes soft.
• Add avocado, garlic, pepper and pine nuts and toss.
• Top with some freshly-shaved parmesan.

I know pine nuts are very pricey, but I had to try them today per the original recipe.  I'm thinking this salad would be just as yummy with walnuts instead of pine nuts.  Especially since walnuts are 1/4th the price of pine nuts.  ;-)

Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata
Taken from this recipe (minus the parsley b/c I don't have any on hand).

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and cut through so you have 4 thinner pieces
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• freshly-ground black pepper
• a few tablespoons of whole wheat flour 
• a tablespoon of Smart Balance
• a tablespoon of olive oil
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• juice of 1 large lemon
• pinch of dried thyme
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup capers, drained

Directions:

• Season both sides of chicken breast pieces with TSSS and black pepper and dredge in flour.
• In a skillet, heat Smart Balance and olive oil until melted.  Cook chicken for a few minutes on each side until browned.  Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
• Zest 1/2 the lemon.  Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, thyme, chicken stock and capers to the pan and scrape up all the brown chicken bits.  Bring to a boil and add more seasoning as necessary.
• Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat with sauce.  Simmer for 5 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
• Transfer chicken to a serving plate and pour the sauce on top.
• Serve hot.

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

ETA on 4/30/15: Wow, looking back on the recipe, I've changed a lot over the past 4 years. I no longer use reduced-fat anything, and I no longer use Tastefully Simple products. Now it's all organic whole cheeses/dairy and Pink Himalayan Sea Salt.

These are so so so so good! I made the following modifications from the original recipe:

I couldn't find 6" whole wheat tortillas. The only whole wheat tortillas I found were either 8" or 10", so I bought the 8" ones. I also rolled them a little thicker than a typical taquito, only because I count my grain servings and didn't want too high of a grain-to-filling ratio. This recipe made 6 large taquitos, which I served cut in half on a diagonal.

I didn't have cilantro or scallions. And I used 4oz. reduced-fat cream cheese instead of 3oz, because a package is 8oz. and it was easier for me to eyeball 1/2 a brick as opposed to 3/8ths of a brick. Also, we don't normally use or keep cream cheese around, so I can make a second batch later this week and not have leftover cream cheese lying around for goodness knows how long.

I used the juice of an entire lime instead of measuring out 1 tablespoon (again, so I wouldn't have anything partial to put back into the fridge). The lime juice is key, it lends a fantastic zing to the taquitos. And I used medium salsa for a nice but not overpowering kick.

Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders
• cooking spray
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 4 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup salsa
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon Tastefully Simple Onion Onion
• 1 teaspoon Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• 1 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar
• 6 8-inch whole wheat tortillas
• Kosher salt

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Place chicken in a single layer onto the sheet, spray with cooking spray, and sprinkle with TSSS.  Bake for 15 - 17 minutes (for breasts) or 10 - 12 minutes (for tenders) until fully cooked.  Shred the cooked chicken as soon as it's cool enough to handle.  
• Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.  Lightly spray a clean baking sheet with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, mix together the chicken with the rest of the ingredients except for the tortillas and Kosher salt.
• Lay a tortilla onto a work surface and spoon onto it a few tablespoons of the chicken mixture.  Roll tightly, then place seam-side down onto the sprayed baking sheet.  Repeat with the rest of the tortillas and chicken mixture.
• Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with Kosher salt.
• Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until crispy and golden brown.

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore
Taken from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and cut through so you have 12 thinner pieces
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• freshly-ground pepper
• whole wheat flour
• olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 15-oz. cans of dice tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons drained capers
• 1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1.5 teaspoons dried basil

Directions:

• Season chicken with TSSS and pepper, then dredge in flour, shaking off any excess.
• Sauté the chicken on both sides in a large pan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  Do in two batches if necessary.  When chicken is nicely browned on both sides, transfer to a plate and set aside.
• Add bell pepper, onion and garlic to the pan and sauté over medium heat for a few minutes until tender.
• Add the two cans of diced tomatoes, the chicken broth, capers, oregano and basil.  Stir to combine.
• Return the chicken to the pan and nestle them into the sauce.  Simmer on medium-low for 10 - 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
• Serve hot over whole wheat pasta.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Granola

I find commercially-packaged granolas way too sweet, so I end up making my own.  Granola is really easy to make, and very versatile, you can add whatever fruits and nuts you like to it.  Use Splenda and agave nectar in place of the sugar and honey to make it SBD-friendly.

I have been craving oatmeal raisin cookies all week, so I came up with this.  All the flavors of an oatmeal cookie in a crunchy granola.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Granola

Ingredients:

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup raisins

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients together (the dry).
• In a separate bowl, mix the next 3 ingredients together (the wet).
• Pour the wet into the dry and combine well.
• Line a baking sheet with a Silpat.
• Spread the granola mixture over the Silpat.
• Bake for 30 - 45 minutes until lightly browned, stirring a couple times to ensure even browning.  Sprinkle the raisins onto the mixture towards the last 5 minutes of baking.
• Remove from oven and let cool completely.  The granola will be soft while it's hot, but once it cools completely it will be nice and crunchy.
• Store in an airtight container.