“A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.” - Walt Disney

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

February Flashback: Cooking Part 1


After failing miserably at committing to cooking in February, I'm trying again in March.  So I sat down with a couple of my favorite cookbooks, made a meal plan for the week, composed a shopping list, hit up the grocery store after work, and came home with lots of goodies - prepared to get cookin'!

The recipe I chose for tonight was Rosemary Chicken with Balsalmic-Glazed Onions from the Weight Watchers Points Plus Cookbook.  Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs, chicken is a healthy staple, and caramelized onions are a recent discovery of taste explosion for me, so this seemed like a great way to ease into my cooking week.  After popping out to the backyard to grab some sprigs of fresh rosemary out of the garden, I got to work.  (FYI, I halved the recipe to feed two.)
Rosemary Chicken with Balsalmic-Glazed Onions (serves 2)
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 very small onions, each cut into 8 wedges
1/8 c. balsalmic vineagar
1 tbs honey
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 (5 oz) skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary or 1/4 tsp dried 
1. Heat oil in medium nonstick skilled over medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook, turning often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Add vinegar, honey, and worcestershire sauce and simmer until onions are tender, about 5 minutes.  Transfer to bowl and keep warm.  Wipe out skillet.
2. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and rosemary.  Spray skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and cook, turning once, until cooked through, about 8 minutes.  Serve chicken with onions. 
Per serving (1 chicken breast with 1/3 cup onions): 243 calories, 6 g fat, 17 g carb, 1 g fiber, & 29 g protein.
While the chicken was cooking, I realized I needed sides.  I have to admit, I cheated a little bit and took the easy route by grabbing the steam-in-bag brussell sprouts out of the freezer and the pouch of uncle ben's ready rice out of the pantry to round out the meal (hey, I cooked the main dish, right?  lol).

After adding a serving of brussel sprouts (the bag said 6-7 sprouts), 1/2 cup of rice, and a glass of nonfat milk, here's the finished product.  I must say that even though it's not as pretty as the cookbook's picture, I'm still pretty impressed with myself.
This whole meal (including the milk) was: 494 calories, 8 g fat, 43 g protein, 60 g carbs, & 6 g fiber.  Not too shabby, right?  And that was a full plateful of food - and yummy food at that!

Also, I had to laugh at my cooking partners - the two cats - they were right underfoot and in the way the entire time, it's amazing I didn't drop something on them (which was probably their plan).
In front of the stove
In front of the sink





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