Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Dijon Cheese Sauce

I was looking around for something to make chicken breast more interesting, and came across this recipe.  I tweaked it a little to suit my own tastes.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken:

2 chicken breasts cutlets, pounded into an even thickness
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Mix the parmesan with the sage and thyme.   Line baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and give a spritz of cooking spray.  Dip the chicken cutlets in the melted butter, and then into the parmesan cheese.  Bake at 425 until the chicken is cooked through and the parmesan is browned. 

Dijon Cheese Sauce: 

3 oz grated montery jack cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup mayo
1 teaspoon grainy dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
fresh ground pepper to taste

In a medium microwaveable bowl, stir the cheese and heavy cream together.  Microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes, until cheese is melted.  Whisk in the mayonnaise, dijon, herbs and pepper to taste.   The sauce will appear a little lumpy but whisk until it is smooth and thick.   Microwave for another minute and then whisk again.
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Serve the chicken with the dijon sauce and a side of broccoli and cauliflower.

Tequila Lime Steak Fajitas

2 - 3 lbs skirt steak, sirloin steak, or london broil. Can substitute 2-3 lbs of boneless chicken breast or even shrimp.

Marinade:

Zest of one lime
Juice of one lime
shot of tequila
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 - 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (depends on how spicy you like it)
1 teaspoon salt

Mix ingredients well. Put steaks and marinade in a ziploc bag, and refrigerate at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. If using shrimp, only marinate for an hour otherwise the lime juice will "cook" the shrimp.

Seed and quarter two large bell peppers. Peel a large onion, and slice across in 1/2 inch slices. Grill the pepper and onion until lightly charred. Slice up the grilled peppers, and seperate the onion rings out of the slices.

Grill steak until desired done-ness. Slice as thin as possible, on the bias.

To assemble fajitas:

Normal: Warm flour tortillas by wrapping in damp paper towels and microwaving for a minute.

Low carb: Take a large head of iceberg lettuce and cut in half. Separate off 2 -3 layers of leaves and use those to wrap the filling.

Layer on the steak, peppers, onions, and add any other toppings you enjoy: shredded cheddar/jack cheese, sour cream, avocado slices, chopped tomato, no-sugar-added salsa.

Cinnamon Sugared Nuts

1 lb pecans
1 lb almonds
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons water
2 cups sugar OR bulk Splenda
1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

for the daring: 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (will give it a nice afterburn)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Stir together the sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne in a large bowl. Beat the egg whites and water together until light and frothy, and toss with the almonds and pecans. Drain, then stir the nuts into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Spread out on two baking sheets. Bake for one hour, stirring every 15-20 minutes.

**This recipe is low carb if you use Splenda or other sugar substitute instead of sugar

Slow Roasted Chicken

I make this recipe at least once every 10 days or so - it's delicious, easy, and inexpensive. It's all about method - the chicken comes out extremely moist and fall-off-the-bone tender.

Start with bone-in skin-on chicken parts - either a family pack of thighs (usually about 10), chicken breast quarters (4 or 5), or a whole chicken cut up into individual parts. Rinse parts and pat dry. Spray two pyrex baking dishes with cooking spray and spread the parts out - it's fine if they are touching but they need to be in one layer and not overlapping each other.

Now you need about one cup of herby marinade. You can make your own with an oil/acid/herb mix, or you can cheat like I often do and use McCormick's Zesty Herb dry packet marinade with oil, vinegar and water added to it - I typically add extra oil/water/vinegar to bring it up to one cup or so of marinade but the one packet of seasoning is plenty. If you want to make your own, a mix of olive oil, lemon juice & zest or white wine, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme and sage is great.

Pour the marinade over the chicken parts evenly, and cover the baking dishes tightly with foil. Bake at 300 degrees for one hour without disturbing. After an hour, turn up the oven temperature to 425 degrees, and uncover the chicken. Baste with the accumulated pan juices/marinade. Roast for another 40 minutes or so, basting 2-3 more times, until the skin of the chicken is golden brown. Enjoy!

Ham, Gruyere and Tomato Quiche (low carb)

(you've figured out what we had for Thanksgiving, right?)

Omitting the traditional crust not only reduces the carbs significantly, but it also makes preparation much easier. The "filling" will brown nicely on the top and bottom, and comes out of the pan easily with the help of a little cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat 6 eggs with 1/2 cup of heavy cream, 1 teaspoon of thyme, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon of sage, and 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper.

Spray an 8 inch glass pie pan well with cooking spray. Mince 4 oz or so of ham and toss with 4 oz finely shredded gruyere cheese in the pie pan. Pour egg mixture over ham and cheese. Slice one tomato crosswise, and arrange tomato slices on top of quiche. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese over top of quiche, then add another light sprinkle of seasonings evenly over the top: garlic powder, thyme, sage, and pepper.

Bake at 350 for approximately 40-45 minutes, until the quiche is browned nicely on top and a knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Let cool 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Serve warm with a side salad. Try a leftover slice reheated in the microwave for a quick breakfast.