Almond Chicken, South Beach Style

Tom and I voted this a keeper. The kids scraped the breading off, and then voted it to be a keeper.

Found here.

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/8 cup (1/2 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 cup finely chopped almonds
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch of ground black pepper
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2" thickness and cut into 6 pieces
Sprig Italian parsley, for garnish

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, cheese, almonds, parsley, garlic, salt, thyme, and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

Place the oil in a shallow dish. Dip the chicken first in the oil, then dredge in the crumb mixture. Place the chicken in a shallow baking pan.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the center of a piece registers 170°F and the juices run clear. (Do not turn the chicken during cooking.) Garnish with the parsley.

Nutritional Information:
383 calories
16 total fat (4 g sat)
91 mg cholesterol
15 g carbohydrate
41 g protein
1 g fiber
730 mg sodium

Russian Tea Cakes

aka Mexican Wedding Cakes aka "Brushin' your teeth cakes"

1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar (for rolling at the end)

Cream butter ane vanilla. Mix sugar, flour, and walnuts in a seperate bowl. Combine the two together. Mix until it is no longer crumbly. Roll into 1 inch balls. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 12 mins. Remove and roll in sugar. Makes 36.

Apparently these are very freezable, too. I didn't get a change to try, though, because every time I pulled a batch out, they disappeared.

Homestyle Green Bean Casserole

From the South Beach Diet Cookbook- This is much healthier than the normal version, and I think it tasted better. I think it could have used more seasoning in the sauce, but I put it down here like it is in the book.

1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 cup ground walnuts
1 onion, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices (onion rings)

Preheat oven to 500. Mix bread crumbs and walnuts together. Dip rings in buttermilk first and then bread crumb mixture. Be careful not to keep liquids in the crumbs to the bare minimum. Once it gets wet, the crumbs won't stick to the onions any more. Lay on a baking sheet that was sprayed with cooking spray. Spray onions with cooking spray, and baked for 20ish mins until golden brown.

Meanwhile, saute:
1 onion, chopped
1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt

Saute until mushrooms release their liquid (about 3 mins). Sprinkle with 1/4 cup whole wehat flour and stir for 1 min. Then, add 3 cups 1% milk and stir constantly for about 3 mins until thick.

Add 1-16 oz bag of frozen green beans. Stir until beans are coated.

Place beans in baking dish (sprayed with cooking spray). Lay onions on top. Baked for 25 mins in a 400 degree oven.

Egg Nog Pie

I realize all may not be fans of egg nog. I wasn't, until a pregnancy did that weird thing when it changes your taste for something. So, thanks to my second child, Tom now has to share the egg nog with me. His family all loves it, so this little invention I came up with for Thanksgiving was a huge hit. The egg nog flavor isn't too strong. I have a feeling this will make a repeat performance later this year.

1 1/2 cup egg nog
1/4 cup milk
1 large package vanilla pudding

Mix together. Add in:

1/2 bag toffee chips (with or without chocolate, doesn't matter)
1 tub cool-whip

Mix with pudding.

Pour into a baked and cooled pie crust. You could also use a graham cracker crust.

Commit now...

To keeping the camera in the kitchen this holiday season.

AHP

English Muffin Breakfast Pizzas

This looks really yummy.  I'm going to cheat and just give you the link.  http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/09/english-muffin-breakfast-pizzas.html

A Plea and A Challenge

Okay, this pregnancy, for some reason, I have developed an intense adverse reaction to anything chicken.  So, please, please please- can we post some non chicken recipes? 

The challenge is that for every non-chicken recipe you post, you get a point.  The person with the most points wins.  Something cool.  I'll send you a brownie mix or something.  You have until September 30th at midnight. 

If you actually bring me something non-chicken, I'll give you 50 points automatically.  Just saying.  You'd totally win that box of brownies...