Light and Summery

Matt and I have been having an adverse reaction to spaghetti sauce, and really, cooked tomatoes altogether. Pizza is no longer an appealing option so it has been a fun challenge for me to find fresh tomato sauces that taste good, are comforting, and easy on the digestive system. A few weeks ago I found a large amount of dill for a great price at the farmers market. I had so much leftover that I had to go digging around on the Internet to find another recipe to use up the rest! Luckily, I found one that matched our needs and I've made it twice this week. I'd use fresh parsley and dill if you can, it makes all the difference. I think next time I'll add another clove of garlic, and maybe some cooked chicken too, right before serving. This would also taste excellent with homemade pesto and/or grilled shrimp! You could even dice the tomatoes a little more and serve on baguette slices - bruschetta!

Fresh Tomato Dill Pasta
from Cooks.com

Ingredients:
3 1/2 c. diced ripe tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
2 tbsp. minced parsley
1 1/2 tsp. dill weed
2 tsp. finely minced shallot or green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
8 oz. thin pasta noodles (such as linguine, angel hair or spaghetti), cooked

Directions:
In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, parsley, dill, shallot and garlic. Gradually stir in olive oil.

For best flavor, let sauce sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour. When ready to serve, add salt and pepper; toss with hot cooked pasta.

Makes 2 to 4 servings (about 3 1/2 cups sauce).

Chicken and Prosciutto...how can you go wrong?

You can't, not with this recipe!

I have had a hankering for food loaded with calories and fat these days. I searched through my recipes and found one that sounded fairly simple and yet satisfying, and oh was it ever. I had made it once a long time ago, much to the delight of Matt and his friend that was over for dinner that evening. It's got great flavor and as the chicken roasts in the oven, the apartment has a wonderful smell, and we can't wait to eat dinner!

CKS note: I couldn't find zuchinni at Trader Joe's, so I used winter squash instead and it tasted equally as good as the zuchinni.

Chicken with Prosciutto and Zuchinni

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or 2 large ones cut in half)
1/4 teaspoon each, salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
8 slices prosciutto
lemon juice
2-3 small zuchinnis, sliced into half moons

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Wash chicken and pat dry. Sprinkle one side with salt and pepper. Heat up oven-safe skillet on medium-high and add 1 tablespoon of the oil. When ready, add the chicken season side down season the side facing up with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side. ONce both sides are cooked, bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through.

Meanwhile, in another skillet, add rest of olive oil, and when ready, add proscuitto and cook for 1-2 minutes per side or until crisp. Transfer to plate. Add zuchinni and garlic, and cook until vegetables are very tender. Once you remove the chicken from the oven, transfer zuchinni, garlic, and prosciutto to skillet with the chicken. Sprinkle lemon juice on top, and then divide among plates.

Slow-cooked goodness

When living in Los Angeles, there's not many opportunities to use your slow-cooker as it just heats up your home further. When we lived in Seattle, I used at least once a week. Not only did it help warm up the kitchen but it made our home smell so good.

This week it's been very cold (for us Angelinos) and so when meal planning this week I threw in a slow-cooker recipe. It was a bit of a challenge as my slow-cooker cookbook is filled with high calorie and high fat recipes, based mainly of creamed soups and/or milk. I did find one, however, that intrigued me, and there was no cream or tomatoes! Bonus! Extra bonus was it only took 2 hours to cook so I could make it after I got home from work. It was very filling and only 192 calories per serving, I felt really good about my healthy and tasty recipe choice. This one is definitely going in the "make again" pile.

Sausage and Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

1 package long grain and wild rice mix with seasoning packet
3 sausage links (I used pre-cooked ones from Trader Joe's), cut up
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2-2 1/2 cups water

Brown sausage, onions, and celery, and put into slow cooker. Add rice and seasoning packet, then pour in water. Cook on LOW for 2-3 hours, or until water is gone and rice is tender. Serves 3-4.

Easy Chicken Dinner

Tonight I meet your challenge, Cindy! I have used to potatoes in tonight's dinner. I'll admit, it's not a new recipe but it's one of my favorites. The bonus is it's easy, super healthy, and makes the house smell oh so good.

I volunteered for a KCTS fund drive a few years ago with my Mom and Dad, and they had a huge pile of cookbooks on clearance sale! I picked up a few, including "Healthy Cooking For Two" and there are some amazing recipes in there, enough for just 2 people should you have limited food or are single and don't want leftovers for 4 nights. The following is probably one of my top 3 picks from the entire book simply because it's so easy and tastes so good. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Chicken Dinner in a Pocket

Ingredients:

aluminum foil
2 boneless chicken breasts halves, skinned
1 medium potato, sliced (approx. 6oz)
4 slices onion (which I left out)
2 small carrots, sliced
1/8 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/8 teaspoon salt
dash black pepper
dash Louisiana Hot Sauce (which I leave out)

Using 2 layers, make 2 stacks of aluminum foil large enough to wrap ingredients and fold over. Place 1 breast on each stack of foil; divide potato, onion, carrots, dill, salt, pepper, and hot sauce evenly between the 2 stacks (I eyeball the seasonings). Bring sides of 1 sheet of foil up around the chicken and vegetables folding over to seal. Then bring sheet of foil up in opposite direction, folding over to seal. Repeat for second dinner. When ready to cook, preheat grill*. Reduce flame to medium-high; place on hot grill about 6 inches from coals, grill for about 25 minutes, turn and continue to cook about 20 minutes or until chicken and vegetables are tender.

*Can be baked in a 400-degree oven for 45-50 minutes.

Yield: 2 servings

1 serving contains:

Cal: 238kc Prot: 29g Fat: 3g Carb: 22g Fiber: 4g Chol: 73mg Sodium: 239mg

No citrus for this cook!

Since this is a cooking and thus food based blog, I shall spare the details. But be warned that my future recipes, at least for the next month, will be citrus free. This includes no tomatoes, limes, lemons, onions (I can only have them if they are well cooked), and I'm also supposed to avoid chocolate and caffeine...hah! One list at at time folks.

I must say I didn't realize that tomatoes are in practically every pre-cooked fast-food at the grocery store so this will be a challenge. This leaves out most foods where I get my natural vitamin C plus most Mexican and Italian dishes - my favorite kinds! Alas, I will be challenged in my tiny-kitchen to come up with non-tummy-abrasive dishes that are still tasty.

Stay tuned!