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.

Sunday Supper: Chicken Enchiladas w/ Mess of Corn and Rice

Call me old-fashioned, but I rather like the idea of there being one night of the weekend (and I'm flexible about this -- it doesn't have to be Sunday, it can be Friday or Saturday) where you really set out to make a nice, complete dinner, possibly with a theme. So, once a week check back here for a Sunday Supper type entry: a main dish and sides.

This week, in honor of Daylight Savings Time and in honor of chicken being on sale at the Teet, I made Chicken Enchiladas. The recipe is a mish-mash of a Mexican Chicken casserole I saw on Paula Dean, a recipe I downloaded three years ago on the Internet, and with a few helpful additions and subtractions inspired by a Weight Watcher's cookbook. The result is 8 tasty enchiladas in a yummy sauce, for 190 calories. Yeah. I know. I'm an amazing person.

Chicken Enchiladas

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

11 oz. salsa (to taste -- use mild to hot, whatever you like. You DO realize that salsa has no calories, right?)
1 C. Fat Free sour cream
1 small diced yellow squash (you can also use a zucchini... if you MUST)
8 medium tortillas (get whole-wheat or corn; they're the lowest in calories)
1 package of pre-cooked chicken chunks (you get it next to the tuna, in the no-drain packs)
1 C. reduced fat cheese (I like to buy the Vermont 75% Fat Free, usually in pepper jack flavor, and then shred it fresh, but you can certainly use the packages of Mexican-style that Kraft sells)
1 -- 3 T. Hot Peppers (greatest invention of all time: pre-mixed hot peppers in a jar. They're next to either the pickles or the tomatoes in your store. use as much as you like, spice-wise, or omit altogether if you don't like spicy. You can also substitute diced sun-dried tomatoes for flavor and color)
2 T. fresh minced parsley
1/2 tsp. cumin
Kosher salt, fresh ground pepper (to taste)

First, heat your tortillas so that they're easier to roll up. You do it in the microwave, 10 secs. per tortilla, with a napkin between each tortilla.

Next, spread some of that salsa on the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan, just enough to cover. Then, combine the chicken with 1/2 C. of the cheese, 1/2 C. sour cream, the squash and hot peppers in a bowl. Season with the cumin, salt and pepper to taste.

Now, spread 1/4 C. exactly of this mixture on each tortilla (it makes JUST enough). Roll up each tortilla and place, seam-side down, in the pan. Mix together the remaining salsa and sour cream and pour over the tortillas (if you got the right size, they should just exactly fit into the pan). Then, top with the remaining cheese.

Cover with foil and bake until the cheese melts (about 20 min) then I like to take the foil off and let it bake another 5 min. so that it gets all brown and bubbly on top. Trust me, it just looks better. Sprinkle with parsley and let sit for about 10 min. to settle before serving. Makes 4 servings (2 enchiladas per serving).

So awesome. You got your main course. And this is an easy dish to do anytime. But then I make a Mess of Corn, which I think I made up one night. I don't remember the source, anyway. And it looks like something I would do with leftover veggies. A Mess, for those of you NOT located below the Mason-Dixon line, is just a small serving. It usually applies to green beans. But this is my blog, and my corn, so here it is:

Mess of Corn

*while you're getting all this going, have some brown rice cooking, or some refried beans. They're easy, take about the same time as this Mess and will go great with the enchiladas! And both are low in calories and high in fiber.

1 T. of oil (canola or corn works best)
1 chopped bunch of scallions
1 minced clove of garlic (I cheat and buy the jars of garlic. I know, I know. But it's so much easier than banging on the stupid things with a knife. If you're like me and have the jar, use 1 T.)
1 T. of those delicious Hot Peppers as mentioned above (again, you can omit if spice is not your bag)
10 oz. package of thawed frozen corn, or 1 can of drained corn (I prefer the frozen, thawed)
1 med. chopped squash or zucchini (here I actually prefer the zucchini)
1 med. bell pepper, any color, chopped
Fresh chopped parsley, cumin, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat the oil over medium high (a little higher if you have non-stick cookware). Add the scallions, garlic and peppers. Saute for a few minutes, let the garlic get fragrant but not brown. Add corn, zucchini, bell pepper and cumin. Saute for 8 minutes, letting the zucchini soften. Remove from heat and season with parsely, salt and pepper. Corn Mess, you're gonna rock my world. You're only 80 calories and you're delicious.

Sunday Supper: Spanish Style.