Yummy Spanish Paprika Chicken

Thank goodness that there will always be new things to do with chicken! This recipe was originally found, I believe, in Cooking Light or Redbook though it was called something nicer (aren't they always called something nicer in the magazines?).

This is an easy, quick recipe to spice up that pound of chicken you've got in the freezer. It's great for an evening when you just don't even feel like pre-heating the oven. Serve this with a little brown rice and some corn or another nice veggie, and you've got a really simple, hearty meal. The heat this dish gets from the paprika isn't spicy hot, but you can certainly heat things up by using extra seasonings! Otherwise, serve as is.

Spanish Paprika Chicken

You'll need:

1 t. paprika

black pepper (to taste); crushed red pepper (for spicy)

4 -- 5 bone/skinless chicken breasts, about 3 oz. each

2 t. extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 C. chopped green olives

14 oz. can of diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained

3 slices proscuitto, finely chopped (about 1/4 C.)

2 T. fresh chopped parsley (I like this with the flat leaf kind)

2 T . grated parmesan

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add your proscuitto. Heat until just barely brown and crispy, then remove to a plate and add in the parsley and parmesan cheese. Keep warm. Meanwhile, keep your skillet over medium heat and add the 2 t. of oil.

Combine your paprika and pepper and sprinkle all over both sides of chicken. I usually sprinkle one side, toss it face-down in the pan and then do the other side. This seems to make better use of the spices. Add the seasoned chicken to your pan and cook about 4 minutes, flipping once. Add your garlic and cook another minute, flip your chicken again. Add olives and tomatoes, bringing the whole mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and then simmer for 6 -- 10 minutes, until chicken is completely cooked through.

Place a chicken breast on each plate, top with 1/2 C. of the sauce, then sprinkle with about 2 T. of the proscuitto/parsley/cheese mixture. Declicious! I usually cut mine up into my rice, and it feel like a ridiculous load of food, but so good! This makes about 4 servings, and you can easily adjust that by just including fewer or more chicken breasts and topping the breasts with a little more/less sauce as necessary. Each serving is 6 pts on WW, or about 310 calories.

Crock Pot Chicken Paprikash

The Deb knows she's been AWOL for a while, but it's been a real emergency, kids! She's gotten all your cards, letters and emails, begging for more, so she's back, don't you worry. Sometimes, when maintaining an active lifestyle and good eating habits, it's important to go with what you know, and this, sadly for you (loyal readers), means that the Deb just goes on auto-pilot. She makes all her tried-and-trued dishes with some repetition, in order to stay the course. There hasn't been anything good and new to share with ya'll, no matter how much she loves you! But now she's back with a new chicken recipe that you're gonna love -- it's so easy and so creamy delicious.

Crock Pot Chicken Paprikash

You'll need:

cooking spray (go ahead and spray your crock pot)
2 C. mushrooms, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 small jar pimentos, chopped, drained
1 T. paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 C. chicken broth
1 lb. chicken tenders, uncooked, in long strips
1 T. flour
1/2 C. Fat free sour cream

Coat a skillet with your cooking spray and heat over medium. Add mushrooms, onion, garlic and pimentos (this drives my poor husband crazy because it smells so good and yet dinner isn't for another 6 hours! If this happens to you, do what I do and make him a nice omlette for lunch using a few of the ingrediants); saute 5 minutes. Stir in spices and cook another minute. Spoon all this into a crock pot and add the broth. Add in the chicken and cover, cooking for 5 -- 6 hours on LOW.

Just before supper time, make yourself a nice loaf of bread and while that's cooking, stir together the flour and sour cream -- this will keep the cream from curdling when heated. Trust me: few things are as actively disgusting as curdled sour cream. Stir this into your chicken mixture, cover and cook another 10 minutes, perfect for while your bread is cooking.

Spoon yourself a big helping of 1 1/2 C. (makes about 4 servings) and it's only 215 calories (4 WW points), loaded with flavor and goodness. Sop up the extra creaminess with your bread!

Chicken and Dumplings

Yesterday it was freakishly and suddenly cold, with a decidedly unpleasant cold rain crashing into the Deb's readiness for Spring and so I felt the urge to make some comfort food. My husband loves him some chicken and dumplings, and I use this recipe to make delicious dumplings of a low-fat variety. They're also great when a loved-one has a cold or the flu! They're warm and tasty and very low in fat/calories!

Chicken and Non-Dumpy Dumplings
You'll need:

1 1/4 lb chicken breasts, boneless skinless, cut into 1" chunks
2 T. flour
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
2 t. canola oil
2 leeks, white and light parts online, thinly sliced
2 -- 3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks (I use the leafy ones for extra flavor), chopped
1 bay leaf
1 t. thyme
2 1/2 C. low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 C. apple juice
1/2 C. fresh or frozen/thawed peas

Heat a large sauce pan over medium high heat. Meanwhile, take your chicken breasts and sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper, each side. Mix the flour, and the 1/8 tsps of salt and pepper together. Sprinkle 1 T. of this mixture onto the chicken. Heat oil in the sauce pan and then add the chicken. It should sizzle when it hits the heat! Brown the chicken to just barely golden, then remove to a plate. Into the same pan, toss in your leeks and shallots. Let them get soft and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add in carrots, celery, bay leaf and thyme, stirring all together. Cook until flavors are combined, about 6 -- 8 minutes. Add in chicken broth, apple juice and reserved chicken. Bring to a boil and then let simmer, partially covered, for about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, work on your dumplings ...

For Dumplings:
2 T. flour
2 T. cornmeal
3/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 T. chopped parsley
1/4 C. milk

Sift flour, cornmeal, powder and salt together. Stir in parsley gently. Slowly add in milk until just combined. As chicken mixture finishes simmering, plop tsp. of the dough into the hot, bubbly water. They'll swell up a bit, so spread them out. Cover, simmering for another 4 -- 5 minutes until cooked through, perhaps gently turning once. Add in peas and cook for another 2 minutes. Serve in 1 C. servings; serves 6. I serve this with some crusty bread slices or over brown rice. A perfect cold weather meal, very filling and extremely tasty. Only 4 pts. on WW, or about 250 calories.

Chicken Parmesan

I don't know many things better than fried meat baked under a layer of sauce and cheese. I make this dish with fewer calories than what you'd get at Olive Garden, but the key is using good, fresh ingredients (isn't it always?). Make sure you use freshly ground Italian seasoning, freshly sliced, good quality mozzarella and equally freshly grated, good parmesan cheese.

Chicken Parmesan
Preheat your oven and spray an 8" square bake pan with cooking spray.

You'll need:
1 lb. chicken breasts, boneless/skinless, pounded thin (about 4 4 oz. pieces)
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 C. dry, seasoned breadcrumbs
2 T. Italian seasoning
1 t. olive oil
2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce (I use the garlic and basil flavored kind)
1/2 C. part-skim mozzarella, sliced into thin strips
2 T. freshly grated parmesan cheese

Combine the breadcrumbs and seasoning in a shallow dish. Also, heat a skillet over medium high heat and add your olive oil. Pour 1/2 a can of tomato sauce into the bottom of the bake pan.

Coat each chicken breast with egg whites and then thoroughly dredge through the breadcrumb mixture. Turn to get all sides of chicken coated. Add the chicken to your hot skillet, and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes on each side. When the chicken is no longer pink on the inside, remove to bake pan and cover with remaining tomato sauce -- it's sort of a matter of taste. (My husband likes lots of sauce, which he spoons over the whole wheat pasta.) Then top with cheeses. Bake until bubbly and cheese is browning, about 25 minutes. Serves 4.

I serve this over pasta with a nice big salad. It's 256 calories (5 WW points) and it is one of our favorites. It's also not particularly labor intensive. Once you've dredged the chicken in crumbs, the hard work is over. I usually buy more chicken breasts so that Stephen has leftovers for lunch. This is a super easy recipe to double -- you just use a 9 x 13" bake pan instead of the little one.

Chicken Cha Cha

"That's Amore" by Dean Martin (it certainly will be "amore" after you serve him breaded, lightly fried meat under gooey cheese and warm sauce)

"Time to Say Goodbye" by Andrea Bocelli (time to say goodbye to those extra pounds with style and satisfaction)

Risotto with Salmon or Chicken

This recipe came from the Weight Watcher's website and I love it. It originally calls for salmon, but I really like it with chicken; also, I had to double the recipe because the original was only for 2 servings, and my husband always likes leftovers for his lunchy the next day. And I serve it with a crusty whole wheat loaf from the Teet that you can just gobble up the risotto with, like a spoon. It's seven points according to WW, so it's probably around 300 calories per serving. This version serves four, about 1 1/2 C. per serving. Also, it literally takes 20 minutes to make, from stop to finish, so it's great for nights when I barely feel up to the gym, much less the task of facing fire and sharp knives in the kitchen.

Creamy Havarti Risotto
You'll need:
2 boxes risotto mix (I use Parmesan flavor; I finally located the blasted things next to the rice, not in with the other pastas... This is because risotto is an arborio rice. Hey, I'm dainty. I never said I was bright.)
4 C. water
2 T. Fat free butter spray (I Can't Believe It's Not Butter or Parkay version)
4 T. fresh chopped dill
4 oz. smoked salmon, diced, OR 1 package of no-drain chicken, already in chunks for your convenience
2 oz. Havarti cheese, grated (if it's too soft to easily grate, stick it in the freezer for a few minutes until it hardens a bit)
1 tsp. freshly grated black pepper, or to taste

Combine risotto, "butter," water and the mix packet from the box in a big ol' sauce pan. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer for 15 -- 20 minutes, until mostly absorbed (not totally -- should still be a little gooey).

Stir in dill, meat, pepper and cheese. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Serve it up still hot.

Paired with just bread, this is a perfect midday meal. It's easy, light, and yet warm and filling. The risotto makes you full for hours afterwards without making you feel all bloated and heavy, like some pastas can do.

IN OTHER NEWS: The Dainty Deb is taking her show on the road! That's right -- The Deb will be in Vegas until the 17th, so alas... You shall be forced to vacation with her and eat your own body weight in shrimp cocktails... NO! No! No! I mean, The Deb will be on exceptionally good eating behavior in Vegas because she will be too busy gambling all her sainted husband's money at the craps table. In between gambling, drinking and cavorting, though, she will miss you all very much. Check back in after the 17th for more Dainties!!