Taragon Chicken

It took me FOREVER to remember where I found this recipe, but I finally got it! I found this awesome website, Everything Mom, with links to different freezer meals. It linked to this website, Organized Home, with the recipe for Tarragon Chicken. The original recipe sounds great, but I had to tweak it to make it more healthy. You should definitely check it out, because they give you instructions for making this a freezer-friendly meal. The original recipe uses dried tarragon, but I had some leftover fresh tarragon from the Chicken Saute with Pine Nuts recipe, so I substituted 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon for the dried tarragon.

serves 4

4 chicken breast halves, skinless and boneless
3 zucchini squash, small
1 c small mushrooms, whole
3 carrots, peeled
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons light butter, melted
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon tarragon, dried (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
cooking spray

1. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, then again into quarters, and cut into 2-inch spears. Peel carrots and cut into 1/4-inch slices.

2. Arrange chicken, meaty sides up, in 13x9 baking dish coated with cooking spray;
sprinkle with paprika. Place zucchini, carrots and mushrooms around and over chicken. Mix remaining ingredients; drizzle over chicken and vegetables. Spray chicken and veggies with cooking spray.

3. Cover and cook in 350-degree oven until chicken is done, 50 to 60 minutes.

Served with mashed potatoes

Results: This was really, really good. I used about half the butter (and switched that up to light butter) and don't think I missed anything, tastewise. The vegetables were roasted perfectly. I will say that the chicken was a little dry, but the chicken breasts I used were really thin, so I think it had more to do with that than with the cooking times. Super easy to make and a nice colorful meal.

Recipe from Organized Home

Cauliflower Fritters

Recipe from Gina's Skinny Taste

Serves 12 (The recipe says it makes 24 fritters, and a serving is two fritters. I followed the instructions exactly, but it only made 10 fritters. Go figure.)

4 cups steamed cauliflower (roughly chopped)
2 cloves garlic, crushed (I think she meant minced or chopped. Otherwise, one fritter could end up with a huge chunk of garlic!)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano (I used Parmesan)
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup hot water
salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

1. In a large bowl, combine cauliflower, flour, garlic, eggs, grated cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Add water so that batter becomes slightly more dense than pancake batter. (What a weird description. This lady must make some pretty weird pancakes. It is so lumpy, I don't know how you could even compare this batter to pancake batter.)

2. On medium-low heat, add 1 tbsp of oil in a 10 inch skillet coating bottom of the pan. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to form fritters. You can fit 4 fritters at a time. Cook until golden brown, turn and cook another few minutes. Add Add a little more oil to the pan, and repeat with the remaining batter.

Results: I was really excited to try these, but I was disappointed. First of all, that is A LOT of oil to cook these in! I only used 2 tablespoons, but they seemed so greasy. It felt so fattening, at a time when I am trying to lose some weight! Taste-wise, they were just OK. Chris didn't like them at all. Henry, on the other hand, LOVED these! His words were "I one billion, one billion, one billion.......(fill in one billions here)....times love these." Then he overheard me say to Chris that "I wouldn't repeat this." And you would have thought I took his favorite stuffed animal and flushed it down the toilet.

Me: "I wouldn't repeat this."
Henry: "What? The fritters? WHY NOT? But I LOVE THEM! You have to make this forever everyday!"
Me: "Ok, Henry."
Henry: "I want these for lunch tomorrow. And also for dinner on Saturday when it is dessert night."
Me: "OK, Henry."
Henry: "Because I LOVE THEM!"

BUT, if you have any interest at all in trying these, you absolutely should, because based on the reviews, Chris and I are the only people in the world who didn't like these. The comments on Gina's Skinny Taste overwhelmingly admit their awesomeness. Steven, of course, wouldn't even pretend to try them.