Foil Packet Chicken with Snow Peas and Carrots

Makes 4 packets
Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

18-24 baby carrots
2 C sugar snap peas
1 (1-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
salt and pepper
4 small chicken breasts
2 T hoisin sauce
soy sauce

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut 4 pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil about 12 inches square (if you don’t have heavy-duty aluminum foil, use two pieces of regular aluminum foil for each packet). In a small bowl, combine garlic and ginger.

Arrange the carrots and peas on the aluminum foil. Sprinkle with the ginger/garlic mixture, and salt and pepper to taste. Brush the chicken on both sides with the hoisin sauce. Top each portion of vegetables with a piece of chicken. Salt lightly. Add 1-2 teaspoons of soy sauce on top of the chicken.

Bring opposite sides of the foil up to meet over the chicken. Fold the edges together in a ¼-inch fold, and then fold over 3 more times. Fold the open edges at either end of the packet together in a ¼-inch fold, and then fold over twice again to seal.

Put the foil packets on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes. Transfer the contents of each packet to a dinner plate and serve.

Grilled Chicken Tuscan Style

Serves 2
From Eating for Life

2 portions chicken breast
1 T olive oil
2 tomatoes, diced
2 T capers, drained and rinsed
1/2 t Mrs. Dash Tomato-Basil-Garlic seasoning
1/4 C fresh basil, sliced, divided
2 portions whole-wheat bread

Preheat grill to high

Place chicken on hot grill and cook for about 6 minutes, turnand grill for about 6 more minutes, until no longer pink in the center.

Whilte the chicken is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add tomatoes and capers; saute until soft, about 10 minutes.

Stir in Mrs. Dash seasoning and half of the sliced basil; saute for 2 more minutes.

Place a portion of chicken on two separate plates on top each with half the tomato and caper mixture; sprinkle with the remaining fresh basil.

Place a portion of whole-wheat bread on each plate. Serve and enjoy!

**Notes from Em**
I didn't have the correct Mrs. Dash seasoning on hand, so I just seasoned the tomatoes with a bit of sun-dried tomato, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion. It was fantastically good.

Baked Apples - No Added Sugar

Serves 5

5 apples
1 C unsweetened applesauce
2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 C water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Peel the apple from the stem out about 1 inch. Scoop out the core from the top of the apple, leaving a well, without cutting through the bottom. Sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon in each apple's well, then fill with applesauce.

Arrange apples in a 9x9 pan and put the water in the bottom of the pan, just enough to cover it. Cover loosely with tinfoil and bake about 30 min. Remove tinfoil and bake another 15 min, or until apples are soft and tender.

Re-vamped Spicy Chicken Sandwiches with Cilantro-Lime Mayo

I made THIS recipe again tonight, but seeing as how we're on a strict diet, I had to find a lower carb/calorie way of doing it. Here's what needs to be changed:

-Don't marinate or bread the chicken, just season with salt and pepper
-Use fat free mayo. Seriously you won't notice the difference
- Add a few drops of Tobasco to the mayo to get a bite of a kick still. 5 drops or so
- Ditch the bun. It's a little messier, but still FANTASTICALLY good
Oh and just for good measure I now add 1t or so of soy sauce to the mayo. Very tasty

Italian Breaded Pork Chops

From Allrecipes.com
Serves 4

3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 T milk
1 1/2 C Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese
2 T dried parsley
2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 pork chops

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and milk. In a separate bowl mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and parsley

Heat the olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook until lightly browned. Remove garlic, reserving for other uses.

Dip each pork chop into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating evenly. Place coated pork chops in the skillet, and brown about 5 minutes on each side.

Place the skillet and pork chops in the preheated oven, and cook 25 minutes, or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

Roasted Canned Tomatoes - Crock Pot Style

I was feeling lazy with cooking the other day, but wanted a yummy tomato sauce to smother my chicken in. So I made THIS but used a crock pot instead of roasting them in my oven for a couple of hours on a hot summer day. It turned out REALLY tasty

2 28 oz cans peeled whole tomatoes, drained, halved, and seeded.
1/2 to 2/3 C extra-virgin olive oil
14 large fresh basil leaves, torn
2 4-inch branches fresh rosemary
1/2 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
5 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Throw it all together in a crock pot, stir until well mixed. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6-8 hours. Serve over chicken, rice, pasta, or anything else.

Easy Broiled Lobster Tails

From AllRecipes.com
Serves 2

2 (6 oz) lobster tails
1 T olive oil
1 t lemon pepper seasoning

Preheat the oven's broiler

Using kitchen scissors, cut the lobster shells open lengthwise down the back. Brush the exposed meat with olive oil and season with lemon pepper. Place on a broiler pan with the opening facing upwards.

Broil the tales about 6 inches from the heat source until they are opaque and slightly browned at the edges, about 10 minutes.

**Notes from Em**
I've tried cooking lobster tails a couple of times now, and they always turn out mediocre at best. These were phenomenal, and I doubt I'll ever cook any other way.