Tex-Mex Chicken Thighs with Zucchini

Judy and I will soon be leaving our winter quarters in Palm Desert and heading back to our home in Tulsa for the spring.  On the way our drive will take us through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.  As preparation for the trip, and to honor the areas we will be visiting along the way, Judy prepared this wonderful dish for our dinner last night. 

The traditional Tex-Mex flavor just Pops! 

From our kitchen to yours.  Enjoy the adventure.

Ingredients

Tex-Mex Chicken with Zucchini

1 ½ tsp dried Oregano

1 tsp ground Cumin

¾ tsp Salt, or to taste

½ tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground, or to taste

12 oz uncooked Chicken Thighs, boneless and skinless, cut into 2-inch chunks

1 ½ tsp Olive Oil, divided

1 medium Onion, chopped

1 large uncooked Zucchini, halved lengthwise, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices

1 cup frozen Corn kernels

1 Tbsp Garlic, minced

14 ½ oz canned Tomatoes, diced, in sauce

1/3 cup Cilantro, fresh, chopped

¼ tsp dried Red Pepper flakes

Instructions

In a small cup, combine Oregano, Cumin, Red Pepper flakes, Salt, and Pepper.

Place Chicken thighs in a bowl and toss with half of the spice mixture, reserve remaining spice mix.

Heat 1 tsp Olive Oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add Chicken and sauté until browned, about 5 minutes, remove to a plate.

Heat remaining ½ tsp Olive Oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat, add Onions and sauté until slightly translucent and lightly browned, but still crisp, about 5 minutes.

Add Zucchini and Corn to skillet, sauté until the Zucchini is slightly browned, about 4 minutes.

Add Garlic and the reserved spice mix.  Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in Tomatoes and their sauce. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Add Chicken and ¼ cup Water (to keep Chicken from sticking to the pan). Cover, cook on medium-low heat until Chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in Cilantro. Serve with ½ cup cooked Brown Rice.

Yields 4 servings, about 1 ½ cups per serving. PointsPlus value per serving is 5; add 3 more for the Rice.  Prep time is about 15 minutes. Cooking time is about 25 minutes. Level of difficulty is Easy.

Weight Watchers and PointsPlus are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers Intl. Inc.

Recipes shown may not be exactly the same as those found on any website. Judy and I tend to "tweak" each recipe we feature, to some degree, incorporating our own unique tastes and ideas. PointsPlus values, however, are accurate. 

Photo by Barry Baruh

Soy Ginger Chicken

The name says it all.  The levels of flavor surrounding the Chicken in this dish are amazing.  The recipe is really easy to prepare, and can either be cooked in a pot on the stove, as we did, or in a slow cooker over several hours.  Either way, this is a real winner.

From our kitchen to yours.  Enjoy the adventure.

Ingredients

Soy Ginger Chicken

1/3 cup Soy Sauce

2 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar

6 cloves Garlic

2/3 cup Cilantro, fresh, coarsely chopped

1 pc Ginger Root, about 2” long, peeled and thinly sliced

5 Scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal, 1 cup

1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

1 tsp Coriander, ground

½ tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground

4 Chicken Breasts cut into 1” x 2” pieces, boneless, skinless

4 Chicken Thighs, halved, boneless, skinless

2 Carrots, sliced, leave peel on for added flavor

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 cups, cooked, Brown Rice or Jasmine Rice

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/3 cup Chicken Broth, non-fat, low-sodium

Instructions

In a large pot, stir together Soy Sauce, Sugar, Garlic, Cilantro, Ginger, ½ cup of Scallions, Vinegar, Coriander, Carrots, and Pepper. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat Olive Oil and Chicken Broth over medium high heat.  Add Chicken and Sauté until heated through, about 4 minutes.

Add Chicken and all juices to the Veggie pot and cook in low heat for about an hour.

When mixture has been cooking for about 50 minutes whisk Cornstarch and 1 Tbsp of Water in a small mixing bowl.  Ladle 1 cup of juice from the large pot into the Cornstarch mixture and whisk to combine.  Pour into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until thickened, about 1 minute.  Add to large pot and stir to combine. This will somewhat thicken the sauce.

Serve with Rice and garnish with Cilantro and remaining ½ cup of Scallions.

Yields 4 servings, about 2 cups each. PointsPlus value per serving is 10, including the Rice. Prep time is 15 minutes. Cooking time is about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Level of difficulty is Easy.

Weight Watchers and PointsPlus are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers Intl. Inc.

Recipes shown may not be exactly the same as those found on any website. Judy and I tend to "tweak" each recipe we feature, to some degree, incorporating our own unique tastes and ideas. PointsPlus values, however, are accurate. 

Photo by Barry Baruh

Moroccan Lamb with Couscous

For Valentine’s Day I gave Judy a trip to Morocco, in a manner of speaking.  What I did was to prepare a wonderful dish from that part of the world for our dinner.  It was delicious and quite romantic.

The PointsPlus value per serving is just a little higher than what we normally prepare, but that includes the Couscous. So don’t be afraid of trying this incredible dish yourself.

From our kitchen to yours.  Enjoy the adventure.

Ingredients

Moroccan Lamb with Couscous

5 tsp Olive Oil

1 ¼ pounds Leg of Lamb, trimmed, boned and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground

1 Large Onion, halved and thinly sliced

5 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced

½ tsp Paprika

½ cup Apricots, dried, halved

½ cup pitted Prunes, dried, halved

14 ½ oz can Tomatoes, whole, peeled

½ cup Cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp Lime juice, fresh

2 cups Couscous, cooked

Instructions

In a large saucepan with a tight fitting lid, heat the Oil over high heat. Swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. 

Season the Lamb with Salt and Pepper and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Set aside on a plate.

Reduce the heat to Medium. Add Onion and Garlic; cook stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add Paprika, Apricots, Prunes, Tomatoes and 3 cups of water.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, partially covered to reduce and thicken sauce.

Return Lamb and any accumulated juices to pan and cook until heated through, about 3 – 5 minutes.  Add Cilantro and Lime juice.  Additional Cilantro, if desired, may be used as a garnish.

About 5 minutes before Lamb is done prepare Couscous according to package directions.  Basically you will boil water to which you have added 2 Tbsp of Butter and ¼ tsp Salt.  When water boils add Couscous.  Remove from heat and let sit about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, and serve.

Yields 4 servings. PointsPlus value per serving, including Couscous is 12. Prep time is about 30 minutes. Cooking time is about 30 minutes. Level of difficulty is Easy.

Photo by Barry Baruh

Lemon Chicken with Broccoli

We’re still picking fruit from our citrus trees to incorporate into these recipes.  Tonight we brought in fresh lemons to go with some Chicken Breasts and Broccoli we already had in the fridge.

What we created was a mouth watering dish with a sauce that is thick, bubbly and oh so lemony.  And, this dish comes with a big bonus, it has a PointsPlus® value so low that you can have a double serving with absolutely no guilt whatsoever.  Sound too good to be true?  Try it.

From our kitchen to yours.  Enjoy the adventure.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Whole Wheat flour, or all purpose flour

½ tsp Kosher Salt

¼ tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground

12 oz. uncooked Chicken Breast, boneless and skinless, thinly sliced

2 tsp Olive Oil

1 ½  cups Chicken Broth, fat-free, low sodium, divided

2 tsp garlic, minced

2 ½ cups Broccoli, uncooked, small florets

2 tsp Lemon zest, or more to taste

2 Tbsp Parsley, fresh, chopped

2 Tbsp Lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Instructions

On a plate, combine 1 ½ Tablespoons of flour, ¼ tsp of Salt and Pepper; Add Chicken slices and turn to coat.

Heat Oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.

Add Chicken and cook, turning as needed, until slightly browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Remove Chicken to a plate.

Put 1 cup of Chicken broth and Garlic in the same skillet; bring to a boil over high heat. Scrape browned bits from the skillet, add Broccoli; cover and cook about 1 minute.

In a small cup, stir together the remaining ½ cup of chicken broth, ½ Tbsp of flour and ¼ tsp of Salt.  Add to skillet and bring to a simmer over low heat.

Cover and cook until Broccoli is crisp/tender and the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the Chicken and Lemon zest and continue to cook until heated through.

Remove skillet for heat and incorporate Parsley and Lemon juice.  Toss to coat.

Yields 4 servings.  PointsPlus value per serving is 4.  Prep time is about 10 minutes.  Cooking time is about 10 minutes.  Level of difficulty is Easy.

Weight Watchers and PointsPlus are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers Intl. Inc.

Recipes shown may not be exactly the same as those found on any website. Judy and I tend to "tweak" each recipe we feature, to some degree, incorporating our own unique tastes and ideas. PointsPlus values, however, are accurate. 

Photo by Barry Baruh