Low Carb Cooking 101
By Di Bauer, CarbSmart Editor
Food not only should taste good, it should look good, too. Presentation is important; even my husband, who is oblivious to most things, notices when food is nicely presented. (He doesn't notice if I buy a new sofa, but he does notice a pretty salad. He is, at times, a very strange man.)
For this week's menu, pay particular attention to the construction of the salad. Yes, the salad would taste just the same if you simply whacked up the tomatoes and dumped them on the salad greens, but slicing and arranging them the way the recipe indicates will take you no more than an extra minute or two and will make a big difference in how the salad looks. Take the time to do it.
Try serving the water with the meal in goblets rather than in those
Here's this evening's menu:
- Oven Roasted Italian Chicken Breasts And Peppers
- Italian Salad With Seasoned Mozzarella Cheese
Here's the shopping list for the meal. You may very well already have some of these things on hand:
- 6 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds)
- 1 medium green bell pepper
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper
- 1 medium red bell pepper ***Note: If yellow and red bell peppers are too expensive, you may use all green bell peppers.
- 2 small onions
- 2 medium zucchini squash ***Note: If you using all green bell peppers, then substitute yellow crookneck squash for the zucchini squash to add more color to the finished dish.
- 1 bag Italian Blend prewashed salad greens (or lettuce blend of your choice)
- 4 Roma tomatoes
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- zesty Italian salad dressing
- minced garlic
- salt
- black pepper
Here's the game plan:
The night before, take the chicken breasts out of the freezer and put them into the refrigerator to thaw. (If you are going to be pressed for time the next evening, you can prepare the vegetables for both the main dish and the salad now, too, and put them in Zip Lock bags in the refrigerator until tomorrow night.)
When you are ready to start dinner, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Prepare the peppers, onions, and zucchini according to the recipe directions and put them in the baking dish with the salad dressing mixture. Rinse off the thawed chicken breasts, pat them dry, and add them to the vegetables. Toss to coat everything with the salad dressing and seasonings. Redistribute the food in the baking dish and put it in the oven, setting the timer for 30 minutes, then sit down and relax for a few minutes.
When the 30 minutes are up, take the baking dish out of the oven and toss the food to redistribute the Italian dressing and seasonings. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees, then return the baking dish to the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes while the chicken completes cooking.
While the chicken is in the oven for the second time, set the table, using goblets for the water. And, since goblets do not hold as much as glasses, it would be nice to have a pitcher of ice water on the table or nearby. (Put it on the table if you have a nice glass or crystal pitcher; put it nearby if you're using one of the plastic ones.)
Slice the tomatoes for the salads, construct the salads and put them on the table. When the chicken is done, serve it immediately and sit down to a relaxing, well-deserved meal. Don't forget to sip your water in a very classy way.
And, finally, here's the recipes:
Oven Roasted Italian Chicken Breasts And Peppers
This is a colorful one dish meal.
- 6 tablespoons zesty Italian salad dressing
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 small onions, cut into 8 wedges
- 2 medium zucchini squash, cut into 1-inch chunks
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a 9" by 13" baking dish combine the Italian salad dressing, minced garlic (or garlic powder) salt, and pepper.
Add the chicken breasts, bell peppers, onion wedges, and zucchini chunks and toss to coat thoroughly.
Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Take the baking dish out of the oven and toss the meat and vegetables again to recoat them with the seasonings and pan juices.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 more minutes, or until the chicken breasts are completely cook through.
Serve immediately.
Serves 4 to 6.
***Note: If yellow and red bell peppers are too expensive, you may use all green bell peppers, but if you do this, then substitute yellow crookneck squash for the zucchini squash to add more color to the finished dish.
***Note: Leftovers reheat well in either the oven or the microwave. My 10-year-old daughter likes to cut the leftover chicken up into bite-sized pieces, mixes it back into the leftover vegetables, and uses it to fill low carb tortillas for her lunch the next day. She likes them either hot or cold, but I recommend reheating. (I think you have to be 10 to enjoy it cold, or maybe I'm just an old stick-in the mud. Judy thinks it's the latter, of course.)
Italian Salad With Seasoned Mozzarella Cheese
- 1 bag Italian Blend prewashed mixed salad greens (or lettuce blend of your choice)
- 4 medium Roma tomatoes
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- zesty Italian salad dressing
Distribute the salad greens evenly into 4 salad plates or bowls.
Slice the tomatoes into 6 slices each and then cut each slice in half. Arrange the half slices around the edges of the salad plates of bowls with the cut sides all going in the same direction and slipping the end of each slice slightly under the salad greens.
Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese over the top of the greens and drizzle the zesty Italian salad dressing over the salads. (Be sure to drizzle a little of the dressing over the tomato slices, too.)
Serve immediately.
Serves 4.
|
