Facets of Our Lives

One of the reasons I like to cook chicken or with chicken is that it often tastes great with very little effort. Sure, you can bread it, marinate it, poach it, cover it in barbecue sauce and grill it -- but a little salt and pepper and 40 minutes in the oven can taste amazing, too. So I have two recipes for you today. The first is one I prepared for my mother at her suggestion. She is diabetic, and this recipe is diabetic-friendly (i.e., low-carb, high protein), and so easy as to be ridiculous. The result is delicious. The second is one I have made several times in bulk, as the individual portions freeze and sous-vide or microwave beautifully. Both can be served with rice, vegetables, or both -- but you'll see when you try them. No heavy sauces here, but amazingly flavorful. American Pie Chicken   ( from the original recipe here ) Non-stick cooking spray 4 boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets (4oz. each) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1/4 cup apple butter...

This week's recipes aren't the healthiest, but I've done my best with them. Croissant dough is available in your refrigerator case in both name brand and store brand varieties, called by the more English sounding "Crescent Rolls". In fairness, these versions, while tasty, are nothing like their French counterparts: definitely more doughy, less flaky, less buttery. However, working with this dough is very easy, and lends itself well to various recipes. I've used the dough to make pockets full of chicken and vegetables, sweet breakfast treats, and of course, dinner rolls. The real problem with the dough are the fat and calories. Even if you buy the reduced fat version, they are 100 calories per crescent, and they're small . So if you're planning to use any kind of filling, you've got to be mindful of what you're using or you could end up with a very high-calorie, high-fat snack. Needless to say, for today's recipes, I have used the r...

Happy Labor Day Weekend! I figure since I have slowed down on my posting, I will go ahead and work this Labor Day and give you some recipes. "Americans love their mayo," a friend said to me when we were discussing baguette sandwiches I had enjoyed in Paris. The French do not use mayonnaise, but rather butter or margarine. Interestingly, I saw a program on the Food Network this weekend describing sandwiches that have both . The Dutch (and the Flemish of Belgium) use mayo with their famous french fries, and purchasing patat or frites , you select which fritesaus you'd prefer -- from a specific type of sweet mayo, to a peanut sauce, to a curry mayonnaise, to other local, delicious and diverse options. Ok, so why am I discussing this? Well, I visited my mother last week, and thanks to changes in her diet, she has little use for mayonnaise at the moment. To add further to her disinterest in the product, she purchased a low-fat or non-fat version of mayonnaise, which ...