{Taste Test Tuesday} Balsamic Chicken Drumsticks

I remember my mouth watering when I saw this recipe on Everyday Italian over a year ago. 

Looks delicious, right?  When I took my first bite I was surprised by how incredibly plain it was.  How could something marinated in balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, etc... be plain?  The recipe said to marinate the chicken for 2 hours (which I did), but that obviously wasn't long enough.  I wonder if they would have been better sitting in the marinade overnight.  I also expected the marinade to turn into a glaze after cooking it.  Again, the recipe said it would be thick to brush on the drumsticks, but it was quite thin.  I think it's safe to say I was pretty disappointed with the end result. 

 

Serves 4

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 5 sprigs of rosemary
• 5 garlic cloves, halved
• 10 to 12 chicken drumsticks
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

 

Combine the balsamic, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary sprigs, and garlic cloves in a large, re-sealable bag.  Shake and squeeze the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar.  Add the chicken drumsticks to the bag and seal with as little air as possible.  Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours.

 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

 

Place the drumsticks on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Bake until the skin is caramelized and very dark in spots, about 30 to 35 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, place the marinade in a small saucepan.  Bring the marinade to a boil (in order to kill bacteria).  Reduce heat to simmer and cook over low heat until thick, about 15 minutes.  Reserve.

 

Use a pastry brush to brush some of the cooked marinade on the cooked chicken.  Place the chicken on a serving platter.  Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and chopped parsley.

 

From the Food Network website.

 

I'm giving this recipe ☆☆

 

 

Salmon w/ Creamy Dill Sauce

Salmon.  Either you love it or hate it.  I happen to love it, especially with this creamy sauce.  I always thought salmon was incredibly expensive until I bought it frozen at Trader Joes for $9.99/lb.  Not bad considering a serving of fish is about 3 oz.  If you don't like the taste of salmon or feel it's too pricey, substitute tilapia.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb. salmon
• 3/4 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
• 1/2 small onion, sliced & separated into rings
• 4 lemon slices
• 2 tablespoons butter, cubed
• Cooking spray

Dill Sauce

• 1/3 cup light sour cream or nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup mayo with olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh dill
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking dish with heavy-duty foil; lightly spray with cooking spray.  Place salmon skin side down.  Sprinkle with lemon-pepper and onion salt.  Top with onion and lemon slices.  Fold foil around salmon and seal tightly.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Open foil carefully, allowing steam to escape.  Broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 8-12 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. 

Combine sauce ingredients until smooth.  Serve with salmon.

Note: Some of the onion will be burnt after broiling which I toss and I set aside the lemon.

Adapted from the Taste of Home website.

This is my FAVORITE salmon recipe, what's yours?

{Taste Test Tuesday} Chicken Parmesan w/ Pasta

My parents gave me a wonderful gift for Christmas!

I have been leaning towards "Healthy Eating" rather than "Clean Eating" because most of the clean recipes I've tried I haven't liked.  They lacked flavor and had little to no spices in them.  I'm sorry people, but you NEED salt and pepper to flavor a dish!  I pretty much gave up trying to find new clean recipes until I got this book.  It's filled with pictures, menu plans, shopping lists, cooking terms, a conversion table, etc... and guess what?  They put salt and pepper in their dishes!  Woo hoo! 

My first taste test meal out of this book is Chicken Parmesan with Pasta.  It has cheese, pasta, and several spices...that's my kind of meal! 

It did not disappoint.  I couldn't believe it was HEALTHY and CLEAN.  It tasted pretty damn similar to my version of Chicken Parmesan with Pasta minus a ton of calories.  If you're on the fence about clean eating like I was, I highly suggest giving this meal a try.  I did make a couple modifications to it:  I used multigrain pasta instead of whole wheat and I used a red bell pepper instead of a green.

Serves 4

 

Ingredients

•  Olive oil cooking spray
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced white onion
• 1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. dried oregano, divided
• 1 (28 oz.) jar crushed organic tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp. sun-dried tomato paste or organic tomato paste
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat panko bread crumbs
• 1 Tbsp. grated reduced-fat Parmesan cheese (I didn't have reduced-fat on hand so I used regular Parmesan cheese)
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 4 (4 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella or Italian cheese
• 8 oz. cooked multigrain or whole wheat penne
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. 

2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic and saute 3 to 5 minutes, until vegetables are soft.  Add one teaspoon oregano and stir to coat. Cook 30 seconds, until oregano is fragrant.  Add tomatoes and tomato paste and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer 20 to 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a shallow dish, combine panko bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, remaining teaspoon of oregano, thyme, salt, and black pepper.  Mix to combine.  Taste for seasonings and add a bit more salt and pepper if needed.  Brush both sides of each chicken breast with mustard.  Transfer each breast to panko mixture and turn to coat both sides.  Arrange chicken on prepared baking sheet.  Coat surface of chicken with cooking spray.  Bake for 20 minutes.

4. Top each chicken breast with 2 to 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce and 2 tablespoons of mozzarella or Italian cheese.  Return chicken to oven and bake 10 minutes more, until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbly.

5. Arrange pasta on a serving plate and top with remaining tomato sauce and a little grated Parmesan cheese.  Serve chicken with pasta on the side, garnishing both with basil.  I also served steamed broccoli on the side.

Tip:  Make your Chicken Parm more golden in color by toasting the panko crumbs in a skillet over medium heat before making the dish.

Adapted from The Best of Clean Eating book

This recipe gets ☆☆☆☆  Share your favorite Clean Eating recipe with me!

 



Smothered Chicken

I was digging through old recipes and found this hidden gem.  It's simple to make and the lemon marinade gives the chicken a nice tang.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken breasts (about 1 lb.)
• ½ medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Cooking spray

Directions

 

1.  In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, and black pepper.  Place chicken and marinade in a gallon size Ziploc bag.  Refrigerate for 1 to 24 hours.

 

2. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat.  Sprinkle both sides of chicken with oregano, salt, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.  Cook chicken 8-10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink in the middle.

 

3. In a separate skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Cook bell pepper and onion for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender.  Stir in mushrooms and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

4. Sprinkle cheese and vegetables over chicken; remove from heat.  Cover and let stand until cheese is melted.

 

Serve with brown and wild rice.