Today is day 1 of our wedding diet. This all began when David and my father decide to have a bet. David vowed to lose 50 lbs. by June and my father will buy him his entire suit/shoes/socks for our wedding. David loves to bet on things. Every opportunity he gets he bets, hoping to win. Sometimes he wins, sometimes he obviously doesn’t. This bet, however, he is determined to win. And since he is on a diet, I was pulled in as well. The idea now is to cook carb-free meals, eat more fruits and vegetables and make carbs a thing of the past. And so, my days of pasta and bread are pushed to the side for now. The hard part is to make meals that are just as good, but with a lot less calories. I was never much for diets and I am not ready to give up good food. My plan is to try as hard as I can to find recipes, create recipes and alter recipes and to keep enjoying meals—because I live for good job =).
Today’s recipe went through a few trials and tribulations. The first time I made this meal I left the skin on the lemons and it turned out very bitter. The next time I didn’t roll them, and instead cut them into small pieces and created a sort of stem—not that great. The time after, I over cooked it and the chicken was so dry. The issue with this recipe is that it is all white meat and so if you do not give the dish enough moisture you end up eating very dry, unfavorable white chicken meat with loads of spinach. After playing around with the spices and the moisture, I think I’ve met my match.
A few things to consider before making this meal: If you are not much for citrusy lemon flavoring, this is not your meal and if you absolutely despise white chicken meat, this is not your meal.
One thing I would say is—if you are NOT watching your diet you can make this recipe with breadcrumbs. You can cook this chicken for about 30 minutes, and then take them out, dunk them in beaten egg, roll them in bread crumbs and fry them on each side for about 1 minute. It will give the chicken an awesome crunch and intensify the flavoring. However, since I believe we should all watch our diets when possible, try this dish first and then see what works for you best. Enjoy!
___________________________________________________
Today’s recipe went through a few trials and tribulations. The first time I made this meal I left the skin on the lemons and it turned out very bitter. The next time I didn’t roll them, and instead cut them into small pieces and created a sort of stem—not that great. The time after, I over cooked it and the chicken was so dry. The issue with this recipe is that it is all white meat and so if you do not give the dish enough moisture you end up eating very dry, unfavorable white chicken meat with loads of spinach. After playing around with the spices and the moisture, I think I’ve met my match.
A few things to consider before making this meal: If you are not much for citrusy lemon flavoring, this is not your meal and if you absolutely despise white chicken meat, this is not your meal.
One thing I would say is—if you are NOT watching your diet you can make this recipe with breadcrumbs. You can cook this chicken for about 30 minutes, and then take them out, dunk them in beaten egg, roll them in bread crumbs and fry them on each side for about 1 minute. It will give the chicken an awesome crunch and intensify the flavoring. However, since I believe we should all watch our diets when possible, try this dish first and then see what works for you best. Enjoy!
___________________________________________________
Spinach Chicken Rolls with Lemon and Garlic
with Grilled Plum Tomatoes
Cooking Time: 45 Minutes
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Serves: 4 People
Ingredients:
8 thin cut chicken cutlets
1 pack/bunch of spinach, washed and de-stemmed
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 lemons, peeled
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon of sweet paprika
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
4 plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon of dried dill or 2 tablespoons of fresh dill removed from its stem and finely chopped
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, take 1 of the peeled lemons and cut out the sections by holding the lemon in one hand cutting as close as you can to the membrane that keeps each section apart from the other. These sections are called “supreme’s”. Make sure to work over the bowl so all the juices stay in the bowl. When you are done squeeze the lemon skin to remove any remaining juices. After awards, with a fork pick out any seeds so all you have is the fruit chunks of the lemon.
Next, add the minced garlic cloves, the dill, a few pinches of salt and pepper, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the pepper flakes and the ground ginger. Mix this all with the fork. Next add the spinach into a bowl and mix with your hand making sure that each spinach leaf is covered with the vinaigrette.
You should have a very nice lemon and garlic aroma in your kitchen now!
Next take the 8 chicken cutlets and wash them and allow them to dry on a paper towel.
In an 8 by 8 inch pan, take the 3 lemons and slice thinly. Layer the lemons on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt and pepper over them.
Take 1 chicken cutlet, take a handful of the spinach mixture and lace it in the center of the cutlet. Roll the chicken cutlet length-wise making sure that one end is securely tucked underneath the other end. Place it in the tray and repeat this for the remaining 7 cutlets.
Your tray should now be neatly packed together, consisting of 4 chicken rolls per row, making it two rows. It is important for the chicken to put close together to insure that they do not roll apart.
If you have any remaining spinach, put them on sides of the chicken, to cook. They won’t go to waste.
Next drizzle the remaining olive oil over the chicken and sprinkle the paprika on top. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt and pepper as well. Rub the paprika into the chicken making sure to rub the sides as well. Make sure that it is covered in red. The Paprika is to ensure that your meat will not come out bland and white, which helps make it more appealing to the eye.
Cook the chicken for 30 minutes covered, and 15 minutes uncovered.
Tomatoes: There are two ways to do this. My favorite way is to do it on a grill pan. Slice the tomatoes, length wise. Take salt and pepper and sprinkle it on the insides of the tomatoes. Take a grill pan and cover it with non-stick spray. Grill the tomatoes for 5 minutes on each side.
If you do not feel like doing that you can cook them in the oven for about 20 minutes. Or you can cook them in the broiler for about 8 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on the broil because it tends to have its own life, and it could burn your tomatoes in a split second.
Serve the tomatoes (2 pieces, 1 tomato) per serving.
Next, add the minced garlic cloves, the dill, a few pinches of salt and pepper, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the pepper flakes and the ground ginger. Mix this all with the fork. Next add the spinach into a bowl and mix with your hand making sure that each spinach leaf is covered with the vinaigrette.
You should have a very nice lemon and garlic aroma in your kitchen now!
Next take the 8 chicken cutlets and wash them and allow them to dry on a paper towel.
In an 8 by 8 inch pan, take the 3 lemons and slice thinly. Layer the lemons on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt and pepper over them.
Take 1 chicken cutlet, take a handful of the spinach mixture and lace it in the center of the cutlet. Roll the chicken cutlet length-wise making sure that one end is securely tucked underneath the other end. Place it in the tray and repeat this for the remaining 7 cutlets.
Your tray should now be neatly packed together, consisting of 4 chicken rolls per row, making it two rows. It is important for the chicken to put close together to insure that they do not roll apart.
If you have any remaining spinach, put them on sides of the chicken, to cook. They won’t go to waste.
Next drizzle the remaining olive oil over the chicken and sprinkle the paprika on top. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt and pepper as well. Rub the paprika into the chicken making sure to rub the sides as well. Make sure that it is covered in red. The Paprika is to ensure that your meat will not come out bland and white, which helps make it more appealing to the eye.
Cook the chicken for 30 minutes covered, and 15 minutes uncovered.
Tomatoes: There are two ways to do this. My favorite way is to do it on a grill pan. Slice the tomatoes, length wise. Take salt and pepper and sprinkle it on the insides of the tomatoes. Take a grill pan and cover it with non-stick spray. Grill the tomatoes for 5 minutes on each side.
If you do not feel like doing that you can cook them in the oven for about 20 minutes. Or you can cook them in the broiler for about 8 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on the broil because it tends to have its own life, and it could burn your tomatoes in a split second.
Serve the tomatoes (2 pieces, 1 tomato) per serving.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.2
No comments:
Post a Comment