Category Archives: Chicken

Buffa-faux Chicken Tenders

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Let’s flash back to the year 2010 for a moment, shall we?

– New Orleans won the Super Bowl

– The Oil Spill

– The Winter Olympics in Vancouver

– Auburn won the BCS National Championship

Now, somewhere in there, I decided to do WW to shed some pounds that desperately needed to go. But like I’ve said before, I love my food. I didn’t want to give up things I love because I knew that would make me an angry person. Deny me a burger and fries? I might punch you in the face.

But I learned quickly that by limiting portions and well, “bad” stuff like, well, almost anything fried – I could make it! So I started making turkey burgers with baked fries. Greasy calorie laden pizza? I made my own crust and used smarter toppings and reduced fat cheese.

Buffalo wings? Oh buffalo wings, how I love thee. Now I will say that sometimes, I still just need the real thing. But in 2010 I did find a way to make some delicious buffalo chicken tenders that are baked and also incredibly filling if you eat 4-5 of them. Definitely fond of the year 2010 – discovered baked buffalo wings. Oh, and got engaged. It was a good year.

So anyways, I know one of the ingredients sounds a little crazy, but it’s actually pretty delicious. You should totally try it.

Buffa-Faux Chicken Tenders (serves 2 – 11 WW pts. per serving)

10 chicken tenders

1/2 cup reduced-fat buttermilk (Doesn’t all really “count” since you end up pouring out the excess)

1 tsp. Tabasco

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1 1/2 cups ground Fiber One cereal

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

1 Tbsp. reduced-calorie margarine

1/2 Tbsp. honey

Olive oil spray

In a medium bowl or deep dish, pour in buttermilk and whisk with Tabasco and garlic. Add trimmed chicken tenders and let soak at least 1 hour. Best if they have 2+ to really marinate!

Grind your cereal and set in a large shallow dish. Add your onion powder, garlic salt, paprika and salt. Mix until well combined.

Preheat your oven to 400. Line a cookie sheet with foil and place a baking rack on top. Spray rack with non-stick spray. This isn’t necessary, but it allows the chicken to get a little crispier.

Have your chicken, coating and baking rack set up in an assembly line and begin!

Pick up chicken and let excess buttermilk drip. Place in the dish with the crumb mixture.

Toss, roll, and press the mixture into the chicken. Then place on your baking rack. Repeat with remaining chicken. Spray the chicken with a little olive oil to crisp it up.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, then remove from oven, flip chicken, and bake another 10-12 minutes until cooked through.

While chicken is baking, add your hot sauce and margarine to a small saucepan and head over medium-low heat. Whisk until blended. I added about 1/2 Tbsp. honey to cut the heat a little!

When your chicken is cooked, add to a plate and drizzle hot sauce over the tenders. It absorbs quickly – but it is quite delicious!

And this, my friends, is what really got me hooked on playing with recipes to make them healthy but still allowing me to eat my favorite foods…great when paired with my ranch flavored oven-baked fries!

Happy Friday everybody!

Chipotle Chicken Croquettes

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Okay, I am officially running around like a crazy person this week getting ready for one of my best friend’s bachelorette parties this weekend! I’m so excited to get a weekend with my girls – and I’m sure I’ll have some fun things to share with y’all when I return!

So when I find myself super stressed out, for some reason, I turn to the kitchen. I recall one time in college I gave up sweets and caffeine around Valentine’s Day. Not to cut back on calories, but to prepare my body for a 48-hour dance marathon! Well, I got super stressed out and turned to baking. Yes, that thing I have a love/hate relationship with. I made a ton of cookies, peanut butter and chocolate rice crispy treats, brownies and another type of cookie. Luckily we had male neighbors in our apartment building…so home-baked treats were easy to pawn off on them!

The other day, I went for something more practical and good for me so I wouldn’t be extra stressed trying to shed pounds from eating a bucket of baked goods! I had written down a recipe a while back that I ran across on a fabulous website (she also does WW recipes!) and so with a big ole chicken breast thawed, I decided to try a new recipe for dinner.

Chipotle Chicken Croquettes (Serves 2 – slightly modified from “Eat Yourself Skinny“)

1 Tbsp. reduced-calorie margarine

2 1/2 Tbsp. minced orange bell pepper

2 1/2 Tbsp. minced green bell pepper

2 1/2 Tbsp. minced onion

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken (I just used 1 big chicken breast I had, about 8-10oz.)

3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 Tbsp. Chipotle mustard

1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. chipotle powder

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

Spicy Mustard Sauce

1/2 clove minced garlic

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1/4 fat-free sour cream

1/2 Tbsp. Chipotle mustard

1/2 Tbsp. lime juice

1/2 tsp. chipotle powder

About 1-2 hours before you’re ready to eat, whisk together garlic, mayo, sour cream, mustard, lime juice and chipotle powder until smooth. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add the chicken. Reduce to medium-high and cook 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. While chicken is cooking, go ahead and chop your veggies. Saute them in 1/2 Tbsp. margarine.

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, egg, mustard, Worcestershire, chipotle seasoning and salt.

Once your chicken has cooked and cooled, chop and shred. Add to a medium bowl with bread crumbs and add your sautéed veggies and combine.

Take the small bowl with the mayo/mustard mixture and add to the chicken. Combine with hands until blended and form into 5 patties.

Heat remaining 1/2 Tbsp. margarine in a skillet and cook the patties over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side. Serve with a dollop (or more if you desire!) of the spicy mustard sauce and dig in!

Note that this is probably a great appetizer, but I tested it for dinner and 2 1/2 patties was a great portion…

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken

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Happy Friday everybody! It’s been a while since I’ve thrown some sort of healthy “bar food” twist at you.

Now, we love spicy in our house – as if you couldn’t tell from the bajillion buffalo flavored recipes I’ve thrown at you. But seriously, we have quite the collection of hot sauces in the refrigerator and always seem to be out of Tabasco even though I know I just bought the big giant bottle last week!

Well, over the 4th of July I tried a new jalapeno popper recipe and it was pretty much amazing. I’d made jalapeno poppers before and had never had issues with burning hands or anything from scooping out seeds even when I dissected like, 24 jalapenos! I always read people saying “use gloves” and think , “psh, wimps.” Um, I don’t know if I got my hands on a super potent batch or what, but the next day driving to work – my hands felt like they were on fire. I poured rubbing alcohol on them later that day because I read that would help! Ugh, I vowed to take jalapenos seriously from that point on!

I still love jalapenos even if they were cruel to me, so I decided to approach them very humbly. By mixing them with cheese, stuffing them in chicken and savoring every delicious bite. We are friends again thanks to the delicious jalapeno popper stuffed chicken recipe I came across on one of my favorite cooking blogs! I promise this isn’t too spicy as long as you (very carefully, might I add) remove the seeds and membrane. Leave some of it if you feel like living on the edge – but whatever you do, make this!

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken (serves 2/10 WW pts. – adapted from SkinnyTaste)

2 chicken breasts (12 oz. total)

1 medium jalapeno, diced

1 slice turkey bacon, cooked

2 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

2 wedges, Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb cheese

1 Tbsp. scallions, chopped

1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/4 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko)

2 tsp. white whole-wheat flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 450.

Mix together cheeses, bacon, scallions and jalapeno in a small bowl.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together lime juice and olive oil.

On a plate, mix together bread crumbs and flour.

Now, trim chicken of any nasty bits (I’m a freak about this) and lay between two pieces of wax paper. Using a meat mallet (or wine bottle, rolling-pin, etc.) pound chicken until flattened to about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thickness. Set some toothpicks out.

Spread half of the cheese/jalapeno mixture in the center of the chicken, working your way out. Leave a small border without the cheese. Begin rolling your chicken (I start with the bigger end) and secure with toothpicks in the center. Seal the ends with toothpicks as well. It is okay if some filling comes out while baking…especially because it creates yummy burnt cheese!

Salt and pepper your chicken and dip in the olive oil and lime juice mixture.

Next, dredge in the crumb mixture. With the toothpicks, it’s a little tough – so you can press the crumbs into the chicken by hand.

Add chicken breasts to a non-stick baking dish and bake for 22-25 minutes.

Don’t forget to remove your toothpicks – but you might want to wait until after it cools a little!

Then it’s time to dig in. I may be a nerd, but my favorite part was cutting into the chicken to see this delicious pocket of cheesy, jalapeno-y (why not?) awesomeness…

That’s a thing of beauty my friends!

Hope y’all have a great weekend!

 

Grilled Lemon Chicken

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So it’s rather funny to me looking through pictures of the delicious grilled dish I’m blogging about today – as it has been pouring on and off all day. Listening to loud claps of thunder and rain against the window is quite relaxing – but it is certainly not grilling weather!

Good thing it’s supposed to be gorgeous out this weekend though – not to mention my husband takes his exam on Saturday so we get to celebrate with friends on Saturday night  at our favorite watering hole!

Anyways, I often get wrapped up in making an elaborate meal with lots of ingredients or that requires a lot of time to marinate when it comes to grilling.

But this recipe? This is a piece of cake. Well, not really – it’s chicken people. See the title?

I served this with my Feta Mac n Cheese and some green beans – but next time, when I actually have groceries in my house, I’m definitely going to throw this together with some potatoes and a crisp green salad!

Oh and if there are any of you out there afraid of your grill – don’t be! Embrace it – there is no better time to learn than right now and I promise you, it’s kind of addictive once you’ve learned the ropes. This is a great “starter” recipe…and it’s only 6 WW points per serving!

Grilled Lemon Chicken (serves 2)

2 thin cut chicken breasts (about 4 oz. each)

3 Tbsp. reduced-calorie margarine

2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/4 tsp. honey

1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp. minced garlic

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Pinch of salt

Preheat your grill to about 375 degrees.

In a small saucepan, heat your margarine. Add your lemon juice, soy sauce, honey, mustard, garlic, salt and cayenne pepper.

Whisk ingredients together until well incorporated.

Now, arm yourself for grilling! Take your chicken, some tongs, your sauce and a basting brush.

Place chicken on the grill and brush the top with your sauce.

Close cover and cook 3-4 minutes. Flip and brush other side with sauce.

Once you have cooked another 3-4 minutes, reduce heat to about 350. Flip chicken every 2 minutes or so, basting with the sauce.

Once your chicken is cooked through and you have some nice grill marks (not char marks, mind you) you are ready to plate. I added one last brush of sauce once it was on the plate to ensure all of the flavor was there!

Just so your chicken doesn’t feel left out, make sure and add some delicious sides to your plate too…

Now this recipe made a ton of sauce which is why I lowered the heat on the grill and kept flipping, to get as much sauce on there as I could. But you could just add a chicken breast or two – I’m sure it would be great for leftovers…

Have a great weekend everybody!

Buffalo Chicken Soft Tacos

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When I am asked to come up with my favorite foods, I am incredibly consistent and not picky with whatever form it comes in – like Tuna (a delicious fresh tuna steak, raw or canned) Artichokes (seriously, anything with them probably makes me happy) and anything buffalo/hot wing flavored.

Luckily, the husband shares my love for buffalo flavored anything. We love us some hot wings. We love buffalo shrimp, buffalo chicken pizza, buffalo chicken soup, buffalo chicken meatballs – clearly it’s a problem, but one of those good ones to have, right? I also feel like Bubba from Forrest Gump right now…

So I recently threw together some buffalo chicken soft tacos – and I figured we’d just go ahead and make this another edition of “Faux Bar Food Friday” – because we all know that an ice cold beer goes great with any and all buffalo chicken type items. And beer goes great with Friday. And long weekends.

See, that worked out so well!

This is one of those easy to throw together meals – especially because you can do a lot of the prep before you sit down to eat! I promise, once you smell the chicken cooking, you’ll want to devour it immediately! (And of course, it’s WW friendly – only 10 points…for dinner!)

Buffalo Chicken Soft Tacos (serves 2)

8 oz. raw boneless, skinless chicken breast

4 medium whole wheat tortillas

1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth

1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

1/4 cup reduced-fat blue cheese crumbles

1/2 cup raw celery, chopped

1/2 cup raw carrot, peeled and julienne

1/2 cup lettuce, chopped

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

Extra hot sauce for topping

Add chicken broth to a medium pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken breasts and cook 20-25 minutes until cooked through.

In the meantime, cut up your celery, carrots and green onion and refrigerate until ready to use.

Once chicken is cooked through, remove from pot – reserving 1/4 cup broth. Let chicken cool a little and then begin shredding with two forks.

Once all of your chicken is shredded, place back in the pot with chicken broth and hot sauce.

Cook over low heat until liquid is mostly absorbed.

While that’s happening, dampen two paper towels – place one on a microwaveable plate and add your 4 tortillas, and top with the 2nd towel. Microwave for 20-25 seconds. This makes the tortillas a little more pliable and less likely to tear when you fold them!

Grab your veggies from the fridge along with your blue cheese and get ready to assemble!

I spread about 1 tsp. ranch in the center of the tortillas and top with chicken, celery, carrots, lettuce, green onion and blue cheese.

I threw a few more dashes of hot sauce on top (because I’m just freaky like that) – but you can just go ahead and devour…

Have a very happy and safe Memorial Day weekend everybody!

Spicy Peanut Chicken Salad

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I feel like I did a marathon this weekend!

I was so fortunate to be able to drive up to St. Louis this past weekend for one of my dear friend’s bachelorette parties.

St. Louis Arch

Clydesdale at Anheuser-Busch: St. Louis

Home of the World Series Champions!

Since I went to school at Penn State and live in Memphis, it’s very rare that I get to spend a weekend with my best friends from college. Like, seriously, we hail from Florida, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Pittsburgh both represented), Connecticut and Illinois. So getting together can be a challenge – but when we do, there is no shortage on fun – which includes choreographed dances and Beauty and the Beast sing-a-longs! More to come too – because since November, three of my girls have gotten engaged!

So before I had headed out on my solo road trip that involved a lot of jamming out to my favorite artist (Eric Church) – I made a delicious pasta salad-type dish with an Asian twist.

I could totally eat this for dinner, but it made up a lot of my lunches last week. And man, were my lunches good. Like, seriously. You don’t even have to wait in line for a microwave in your break room at work – because you eat it cold. And dear goodness, it is incredibly delicious.

And only 8 WW points. I know, I know. You love me. =)

It’s a lot of ingredients – but don’t be intimidated! You won’t regret making the full recipe – or even doubling it if you are one of those people (aka me) who let produce die in your refrigerator drawers after 1-2 uses.

(Oh, and I am certain this would make a great vegetarian dish if you just omit the chicken – so let me know, well, if you try it either way what you think!)

Spicy Peanut Chicken Salad– (6 servings)

1 cup red or orange bell pepper, Julienne

1 cup carrots, shredded

1 cup raw zucchini, shredded

1/2 cup raw broccoli, chopped

1/2 cup green onion, chopped

8 oz. raw chicken breast (boneless/skinless)

8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti

For Dressing:

6 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. water

2 Tbsp. reduced-fat peanut butter

2 Tbsp. sesame oil (Vegetable oil is okay)

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar (regular works too)

1/2 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. pickled ginger, chopped

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. Sriracha (I promise this isn’t too spicy – I actually added more to each serving)

3 Tbsp. chopped peanuts

Boil pasta according to directions. Drain, set aside and let cool in a large bowl.

Boil chicken breast for 8-10 minutes until cooked through. Cool 3-5 minutes. Shred with two forks.

Add bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, green onions and broccoli on top of pasta.

Add chicken.

For dressing:

In a food processor, add soy sauce, water, peanut butter, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, ginger, garlic and Sriracha. Pulse until smooth. Add peanuts and pulse a few more times.

Pour dressing over chicken/veggie/noodle mixture and toss until combined.

Chill at least 1 hour.

Serve and devour. I did add a little more Sriracha and soy to the top of mine and mmmmmmmm was it delicious…

Clearly my goal in life is to make your co-workers jealous…

Guest Blog: Brittany From “Everyday Thoughts”

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I am so excited to be the guest blogger today on Cooking on the Bright Side! Mary and I have been great friends for just over five years. We met in a senior-level college class at the University of Memphis and found commonality in our love for beer, boys, and big ten football (a great starting point for any friendship). I learned quickly how much Mary values and loves her family and that’s something I really admire about her. We shared our love for family and food one evening when my mom was in Memphis visiting. Mary invited my mom and I over for dinner with her and her dad. We enjoyed a beautiful meal. We drank wine and laughed, we drank more wine and cried and by the end of the night I left with this incredible sense that I had found a friend for life. That time around the dinner table was so important to our friendship and its a memory that I’ll carry with me forever.

Our lives are so busy but I think it’s important to make time for the people who matter most in your life and what better way to slow down than some time at the dinner table. The very first time my husband (then boyfriend) prepared a meal for guests we made this recipe. So every time we prepare it we eat at the table. This is one of those meals that just helps us slow down. I hope you enjoy:

Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta

1 box Bowtie Pasta (14 Oz)
1 pound Peeled And Deveined Shrimp
2 Tablespoons Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning, Divided
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, Divided
12 ounces, weight Andouille Sausage, Sliced
1 Yellow Pepper, Stem And Seeds Removed, Then Sliced Into Strips
1 Red Pepper, Stem And Seeds Removed Then Sliced Into Strips
1 Onion, Sliced
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
½ cups Mozzarella Cheese

Preparation Instructions:
Cook the pasta according to package instructions, then drain and set aside.

Place shrimp in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of theSlap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning. Stir so that the shrimp is well coated, set aside.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat add peppers and onions. Saute the vegetables for 2-3 minutes. 

Add an additional 1 tablespoon of the oil to the skillet and add shrimp to the vegetable mixture.

Cook the shrimp for about 3-4 minutes or until theshrimp turns pink and is fully cooked.

Similar to the shrimp, use the remaining 1 tablespoon of Slap YaMama Cajun Seasoning to coat the andouille sausage. Add the remaining oil to the skillet if necessary and cook theandouille sausage in with the shrimp and vegetable mixture for about 3 minutes or until sausage is fully cooked.

Stir in the garlic and cook an additional minute.

Remove from heat.

If you’d like to add a little heat stir in some crushed red pepper (to taste).

In a large pot combine the pasta and the entire shrimp and sausage mixture.

Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Sit at a dinner table with someone you love and enjoy.

Thanks so much for reading. I hope you take a second and check out my blog if you have a minute www.everydaythoughtsbybrittany.blogspot.com

Brittany (of Everyday Thoughts)

Bacon-Cheese Chicken

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So it’s the beginning of the month aaaand I am in desperate need of a grocery run. But the playoffs are on tonight – so I needed to get home and cook something quick!

I had some chicken and was trying to think of something new to do with it. But my brain is fried – so I really couldn’t come up with anything. I was ready to just do the good old standby of Georgia Baked Chicken. But when I opened the fridge, I saw cheese. And bacon.

So why not throw those on top of some chicken?

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Evil. Genius.

Bacon-Cheese Chicken (serves 2)

2- 4 oz. chicken breasts

2 tsp. smoked paprika (regular works too)

2 Tbsp. chicken broth

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

3 slices turkey bacon, cooked

1/4 cup fat-free shredded cheddar cheese

Heat a medium skillet to medium. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with paprika.

Cook chicken in skilled for 4-5 minutes on each side until lightly browned on each side. Add chicken broth to pan to keep chicken from drying out and cook another 5-7 minutes, flipping chicken once.

Once chicken is cooked through, spread 1 tsp. Dijon mustard on tops of each.

Then, break apart pieces of bacon to coat the top of the chicken.

Top the bacon with cheese.

Cover the skillet and turn heat to low. Once cheese has melted, you’re ready to serve.

This was just a quick dish to throw together – and it’s also healthy too. If you use the ingredients as stated above, we’re talking 5 WW points for a chicken breast.

Like I said, evil genius…

Roasted Chicken

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I have been a bad, bad blogger. I am so sorry that my last post was what, a week ago?

Last week I came down with something awful and was at home sick for 2 days. No fun. I had to have my finger pricked – and I absolutely hate all shapes and forms of needles. The nurse asked if my blood pressure was usually low, because where mine was – apparently people are about to pass out. It’s not the sight of blood I promise – it’s more the foreign object drawing it out of me.

Ummm, I bet you really want to see pictures of food right now huh?

Anyways, I apologize for being a bad blogger. Saturday I was feeling much better – enough to go see “The Hunger Games” with the husband. Love. I’m ready for the second movie like, now.

Sunday I was feeling SO much better that I was told to decided to do some much-needed yard work! Our incredibly mild fall/winter had a bunch of leaves falling quite late, meaning it was way too cold to get out there and scoop the remainder of them up. Well, no excuses anymore. And I have the sore muscles and sunburn to prove it. I even got a funny sunburn – I blame my pants being too large (hey, I told you the stuff I cook for you is usually good for you, right?) so bending down and scooping up leaves allowed me to get a glorious sunburn on my lower back. Yes, these kinds of random  things happen to me.

ANYWAYS – Friday night, I was trying to figure out some meal plans for the remainder of the month that would fit our grocery budget and realized I had a whole frozen chicken hanging out in the freezer since like, before our wedding. So I decided that would be dinner on Sunday. It’s frozen, so the expiration date which had passed didn’t really mean anything…right?

Now, I have made Cornish Game Hens before – and they were cute and fun. I roasted and stuffed a turkey years ago for my roommates in college – but that was for Thanksgiving and I had step-by-step instructions from my dad. (Thanksgiving dinner for 8 people with plastic utensils and no dishwasher…I can’t believe I survived.)

So I was a bit intimidated by this 5 1/2 pound chicken. But guess what. There was no reason to be! (Other than learning that next time I will try to find a chicken with the “innards” bagged up and stuffed inside rather than “going fishing”.) It really was quite easy and for just two of us, it made a LOT! So pick up a chicken, don’t wait for a year to roast it, and enjoy!

Roasted Chicken – Serves 4-6

1 whole, frozen chicken

Olive oil

Minced garlic (or fresh)

1-2 lemons

Rosemary

Sage

Thyme

Kosher salt

Black pepper

1-2 Tbsp. butter

Veggies, if you choose

Heat your oven to about 425 degrees.

I had about 1/2 pound of green snap beans, so I decided to use those, half an onion and 1  russet potato to make a complete meal in 1 dish. I chopped it all up, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and threw it in the bottom of a medium roasting pan. Feel free to do the same, modify, or leave this step out completely.

Next, open all of your spice containers (I would have LOVED to use fresh herbs, but I didn’t have any on hand – still tasted great) and pour some spices into prep bowls so you don’t get raw chicken over everything. I found myself juggling and using my teeth to open things. I blame the antibiotics for my lapse in judgment.

Run your whole chicken under cold water and rinse well. Get inside the cavity too. Drain what you can. Remove the “innards” – again, next time I will look to see if there are some that have this step done and have it all in a nice neat little bag to pull out.

Pat dry with paper towels. Lots of paper towels. Seriously.

Sprinkle the inside of the cavity with kosher salt, black pepper, sage and thyme. Add some garlic and spread around with your fingers. Cut a lemon or two in half and shove those up there as well. The chicken will forgive you.

Now, drizzle about 1 tsp. olive oil on one side of the chicken and rub on the skin with your hands. Add some kosher salt, black pepper and rosemary. Rub that in as well.

Using a sharp knife, make 2 incisions in the skin (about 1/2 inch wide) and smear a little softened butter in there, along with some garlic, rosemary and kosher salt.

Flip the bird (hee hee) and repeat, making sure the skin has a nice coating of olive oil and seasoning.

Place chicken in the roasting pan breast side up (I placed mine on top of veggies – if you don’t, maybe add just 1-2 Tbsp. liquid like chicken broth) and cook according to directions on the chicken. Mine took about 1 1/2 hours to cook through. Baste every 20-30 minutes. If your chicken starts browning, make a little tent with aluminum foil to prevent it from burning. A nice crispy skin is good, but burnt skin is not. (Says the girl with bright pink shoulders).

Remove chicken from oven and let sit 10 minutes before carving. You can test to see if it is done by cutting the base of the leg – if the juices run clear, it’s ready!

Carve the chicken and serve with your delicious roasted veggies which have absorbed all of the citrus-herb-butter-olive oil liquid.

For me, this is a great weekend dish because I can get a few things done while it’s cooking – but I’m not rushed like I would be during the week. And this was just for two of us – so we had some great leftovers to work with…

Sorry again for being M.I.A. the past week – I promise I’ll make it up to you with some more delicious recipes this week!

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

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So remember last Friday I told you how we love our faux “bar food” on Fridays? I was serious.

Last weekend was pretty glorious weather-wise. Friday after work, the husband and I were able to sit out on our patio and enjoy a few drinks. It’s always a nice way to wrap up the work week, in my humble opinion. Then we ate dinner and watched a movie. A perfect, low-key evening. I guess like a calm before the storm, because Saturday was so busy I don’t think I caught my breath until we sat down in a movie theater!

Anyways, I had picked up some ground chicken at the grocery store and I wanted to try something new to share with you. Of course, I take pictures of these things as I create them and only share them if they are successful…allow me to say, these totally were. It’s like fancied up hot wings without the mess! I also took a cue from my ranch fries and threw some ranch seasoning in my mashed potatoes and it was the perfect combination!

So if you’re looking for something delicious and nutritious to make without giving up your craving for hot wings – here you go my friends! Who thought 6 little points could be oh so delicious?

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs (serves 2)

8 oz. ground chicken breast

1 Tbsp. yellow onion, minced

1 1/2 Tbsp. celery, minced

1 Tbsp. parsley

3/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

3 Tbsp. reduced-fat blue cheese crumbles

1/3 cup Frank’s red-hot sauce (maybe a little less if you can’t handle the heat!)

1 Tbsp. reduced-calorie margarine

1 Tbsp. honey

Add your ground chicken to a medium bowl. Chop your celery and onion very fine – remember it’s going in a meatball, so you don’t want huge chunks!

Throw in spices and mix together well. If you use your hands, I suggest spraying a little cooking spray. The chicken breast is very “wet” so it tends to stick!

Definitely “coat” your hands when forming the meatballs. I made 10 meatballs with mine.

Heat oil in medium skillet. Add meatballs and cook about 2 minutes per side. I even try to stand mine up on the sides so it gets that good coating all the way around.

While meatballs are cooking, melt your margarine in a medium saucepan. Add hot sauce and honey. Whisk until incorporated. You can always play with this – but it will impact the points if you add more honey and/or margarine.

When your meatballs are cooked through, pour sauce into the skillet and stir meatballs around and let cook for 1-2 minutes. Then serve…preferably with some mashed potatoes with a little ranch seasoning thrown in! 😉

You know you want them…

Have a great weekend everybody!