Moroccan Chicken with Apricots and Squash

It’s truly amazing how something as simple as a fragrance can take you on a journey to a place you’ve never been.  Such was the case the other evening.  I was working in the study, probably writing a new post for the Blog, when all of a sudden I felt as if I’d been transported to a bazaar somewhere in North Africa.  The delightful aroma of spices mingling hung heavy in the soft evening air.  I could almost hear the sound of merchants hawking their wares in the marketplace. But I digress.

Ever since Judy and I discovered the wonderful  foods and flavors associated with this region of the world, on those nights when one of us prepares a Moroccan dish it becomes an extra special evening. And we know that we are in for a good time.  Judy chose today’s featured recipe, and prepared the meal with precision. 

This would be a good recipe to experiment with different ingredients.  Prunes, for instance, could replace, or even be mixed with the apricots.  And another squash, such as pumpkin, or our old friend the Potimarron could be substituted for the Butternut squash.

From our kitchen to yours. Enjoy the adventure.

Ingredients

Moroccan Chicken with Apricots and Squash

1 tsp Salt, or to taste

¼ tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground

1 pound Chicken Breast, uncooked, boneless and skinless

3 sprays, Cooking spray

2 tsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Cumin seed

1 tsp Coriander

½ tsp ground Cinnamon

1 large Vidalia Onion, chopped

2 cups Butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes, about ¾ pound

¾ cups uncooked Brown Basmati Rice, rinsed

16 halves dried Apricot, roughly chopped

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

¼ cup Cilantro, fresh, minced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Rub Salt and Pepper all over Chicken; set aside

Coat a large, oven-proof pot with Cooking Spray; heat over medium heat.  Add Oil; heat until it begins to shimmer.  Add Cumin, Coriander and Cinnamon; cook until fragrant, stirring, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add Chicken and cook until lightly browned, turning once, about 1 ½ to 2 minutes per side. Remove Chicken to a plate; set aside.

Add Onion and Squash to the pot, scraping down the sides and bottom of the pot to incorporate with the pan drippings. Cook, stirring occasionally, until Onions start to turn translucent and the Squash begins to soften, about 10 minutes.

Add Rice and Apricots; place browned Chicken on top. Pour in the Broth; bring to a boil for 1 minute. Cover the pot and bake in the oven until the rice and Squash are tender and the Chicken is cooked through. Check about half way through, at 15 minutes, to see if additional Broth is needed. Cook another  10 – 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with Cilantro before serving.

Yields about four 2 cup servings, with 1 piece of Chicken per serving.  PointsPlus value per serving is 9. Prep time is about 20 minutes. Total cooking time is about 45 minutes. Level of difficulty is Easy, and it’s all in one pot.

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

Baked Beef Penne

Indulging in your favorite “fattening” foods and losing weight is not impossible.  As a matter of fact, if this journey that Judy and I have been on for over a year has taught us anything, it’s that you can eat whatever you want, as long as you stay aware of what you are consuming.  We do that by “Tracking”.

All foods have point values, which are determined by the Fat, Fiber, Carbohydrate, and Protein content in that food.  Weight Watchers has a formula to determine the number of “Points” one may consume per day to either maintain or to lose weight.  As long as we "Track" what we eat and stay within our limits, we may eat anything we desire.  This is what differentiates a diet, which no one enjoys, from a Lifestyle change.

Today’s featured recipe is a favorite of anyone who likes Italian food. Of course we put our own little twist on the original recipe. We think it’s delicious. We hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we have.

From our kitchen to yours. Enjoy the adventure.

Ingredients

12 oz uncooked, Penne Pasta, whole wheat.  Ziti or Rigatoni may be substituted.

Baked Beef Penne

2 tsp Olive Oil

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1/3 pound Ground Beef, raw, extra lean

1 tsp dried Oregano

1 tsp dried Thyme

1 tsp dried Rosemary

½ tsp Salt

½ tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground

28 oz canned crushed Tomatoes

1 cup part skim-milk Mozzarella cheese, shredded

¼ tsp crushed Red Pepper flakes

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F

Cook Pasta according to package directions, about 10 minutes for al dente

Meanwhile, heat Oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat; Add Garlic and sauté 2 minutes. Add Beef and Red Pepper flakes and cook until browned, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 

3 – 5 minutes; drain off excess fat and set pan back over medium heat.

Add Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Salt and pepper; stir to coat Beef.  Cook until the herbs become fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Using a 2 quart Casserole dish, spoon just enough of the Beef/Tomato mixture to cover the bottom.

Next, top the mixture with ½ of the cooked Penne Pasta. Next, layer ½ of the remaining Beef/Tomato mixture over the Penne and cover with ½ of the Mozzarella cheese.  Cover that layer with the remaining Penne. Top that with the remaining Beef/Tomato mixture and top it all with the remaining Mozzarella cheese.

Bake until cheese is golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Slice into 8 pieces and serve.  Yields 8 servings.  PointsPlus value per serving is 7. Prep time is 20 minutes. Cooking time is 50 minutes, total. Level of difficulty is Moderate.

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

Chicken Stewed with Artichokes and Tomatoes

This is a relatively simple recipe, with a minimal amount of preparation, where all of the ingredients are cooked in the same pot.  The result is a delicious concoction of Chicken, Artichokes and Tomatoes with a very special garnish that brings everything together perfectly.

From our kitchen to yours. Enjoy the adventure.

Ingredients

Chicken Stewed with Artichokes and Tomatoes

1 pound Chicken Breast, uncooked, skinless and boneless, four 4 oz pieces cut in half.

1 medium Onion, sliced

3 cups canned crushed Tomatoes, with Italian herbs

28 oz canned Artichoke Hearts, without oil, drained and quartered.  We included canned Artichokes with leaves as well. About 14 oz each.

2 cloves Garlic, minced

2 tsp Lemon Zest

1 Tbsp Parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

Heat a large non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray over high heat. 

Brown Chicken, about 6 minutes, stirring; remove and set aside. 

Reduce heat to medium, cook Onion until softened, about 7 minutes. 

Return Chicken to skillet and stir in Tomatoes, their juice and the Artichokes.

Cover, partially, and simmer for 25 minutes.

Stir Parsley, Garlic and Zest together, uncooked, as a garnish to sprinkle on top.

Serve with 1/2 cup cooked Brown Rice.

Yields 4 servings.  PointsPlus value per serving is 5, add 3 points for the Rice. Prep time is 15 minutes. Cooking time is 35 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

Basque Chicken with Peppers and Onions

The Basque Country is the European national home to Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast.  It comprises the autonomous communities of the Basque Country in Spain and the Northern Basque country in France.

Traditional Basque cuisine is mainly home and family cooking, passed on from one generation of women to another. Men, however, tend to do the majority of cooking outside the home, professionally or in gastronomic societies.

Basque favorites include beef (preferably of young animals), sheep and lamb, pork, and fowl (chicken, quail, partridge, and woodcock). A common Basque sausage, chorizo, is made from meat and pork fat, seasoned with paprika, salt, and garlic. It is then stuffed into casings and dried. It can later be fried or cooked. Hams are cured, care being taken to avoid too much salt. French Basques take pride in their confit d’oie, or goose fried in its own fat.

The Basque Country’s significant diversity in climate and terrain has resulted in a great variety of available vegetables and fruits. Peppers are very popular and are widely grown. Used green, ripe, and dried, they are a key ingredient in many dishes. Garlic is another Basque favorite, as it is in our home, prized in cooking not only for its taste, but for its ability to trap oils in meats and gravies, which enhances the overall flavor tremendously. We always add a little bit more Garlic to our recipes. 

The most popular methods of vegetable preparation are 1) stews, such as leek stew (porrusalda) or bean stew (cocido) and 2) soups, such as vegetable soup (menestra)--a springtime delicacy--or garlic soup.

Today’s featured recipe has a wonderful, garden fresh flavor which further is enhanced by the addition of Canadian Bacon to our recipe. 

From our kitchen to yours.  Enjoy the adventure

Ingredients

Basque Chicken with Peppers and Onions

1 pound Chicken Breast, uncooked, boneless and skinless, cut into 1 inch pieces.

2 medium Onions, sliced. We used Red Onions

1 medium Sweet Red Pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

1 medium Yellow Pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

4 cloves Garlic, fresh, minced

¼ tsp dried Red Pepper flakes

½ cup Wine, white. We used Champagne

14 ½ oz canned diced Tomatoes, drained

1 tsp dried Thyme

4 slices Canadian Bacon, cooked (micro-waved for 25 seconds), diced

1/8 tsp Salt, or to taste

1/8 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground, or to taste

2 cups Rice, cooked, brown or white rice

1 Tbsp Parsley, chopped for garnish

Instructions

Coat a large pot or Dutch Oven with cooking spray. Cook Chicken over medium-high heat until no longer pink in the center, about 4 – 5 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Add Onions and Peppers; cook until tender, about 5 – 7 minutes, stirring frequently.  If needed, add a couple of ounces of water to the pot to keep the Onions from burning.  This also helps to deglaze the pot and add flavor to the vegetables.

Add Garlic and Red Pepper flakes and cook 1 minute more.

Add Wine, Tomatoes, Thyme, Bacon and Chicken. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until Chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Season to taste with Salt and Black Pepper.  Serve over Rice. Garnish with Parsley.

Yields 4 servings, including ½ cup Rice per serving.  PointsPlus value per serving, including Rice is 9.  Prep time is about 25 minutes. Cooking time is about 20 minutes. Level of difficulty is Moderate.

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