Roasted Chicken and Veggies

Sometimes there is no time to make a dish with tons of ingredients, as fun as it may be :) I have recently been introduced to teh wonders of whole roasted chicken. So easy and sooo yummy. And much lower in sodium than the store bought Rotisserie ones (as good as those can be)

All across the internet, there are several different opinions on temps and times to roast a chicken. I chose to go with Ina's way - I'm pretty confident she knows what shes doing :) I basically threw some veggies under the chicken and let loose. No real recipe here, just tossing items together to see what works. But here is the link that I used the times/temps for cooking the chicken. Everything else is just winging it. Har Har.

Fresh Veggies



Raw chicken not so pretty



Spices I used



About ready to roast this bad boy!

Ingredients:

Whole Chicken

Lemon

Veggies of choice

Seasoning of choice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Wash chicken, removing any weird stuff on inside (I have yet to buy a chicken with chicken parts inside thankfully) pat dry - put seasoning of choice all over (I used Greek Style as pictured)

Cut lemon in half and stuff in cavity

Chop veggies (I used onion, carrot and fresh green beans), place in roasting pan - place chicken on top.

Cook chicken for about 1.5 hours, check thigh/leg area to make sure juices run clear.

This is such an easy dinner to make, and a bonus dinner for later in the week if you have leftovers. I shredded the leftovers and combined with BBQ sauce, and served it with biscuits for some BBQ chicken Biscuit Sandwiches. Um, yum. Was sooo yummy, wish I had taken pics :) The possibilities for leftover shredded chicken are pretty endless.

What do you use shredded chicken for? I plan on making many more roasted chickens, and need ideas :)

Lemony Risotto with Asparagus and Shrimp

For the first time in my life I have been paying attention to items that are in season, and cooking with them.  Since asparagus seems to be the go-to veggie in spring, I have been looking for lots of recipes (it helps that every store has it on sale for CHEAP!)

On a whim, I bought a box of Arborio rice last week in hopes that I would figure out what to do with it later.  Never having made Risotto before I had no idea what to expect, but I know I have heard the word yelled A LOT by Chef Ramsey :)  That had me a little worried.

It was actually very easy to cook, just a bit time consuming since you have to constantly stir, but not that big a deal at all.  And the hubby and daughter LOVED it.  So its something that will frequent the household more often.

What are your favorite Risotto Recipes?  I need to stock TO MAKE LIST!


Lemony Risotto with Asparagus and Shrimp
Source: Gourmet | May 2009 (via epicurious.com)

Makes 4 (main course) or 6 to 8 (side dish) servings

Ingredients
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
3/4 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
 

Directions

Bring broth and water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Add asparagus and simmer, uncovered, until just tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer asparagus with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to stop cooking, then drain. Keep broth at a  simmer, covered.

Cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add wine and simmer, stirring constantly, until absorbed.

Stir in 1/2 cup broth mixture and briskly simmer, stirring frequently, until absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is creamy and tender but still al dente (it should be the consistency of a thick soup), about 18 minutes. (There will be leftover broth mixture.)

Stir in shrimp and cook until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in asparagus, zest, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, parmesan, parsley, and pepper to taste. (Thin risotto with some of remaining broth if necessary.)

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linked to:

Easter Yumminess at the In Laws :)

Yumminess.  Don't think that's even a word but that's what I felt going over to the In Laws for Easter.  My MIL does the old school southern cooking that we dont have very often anymore, just for health reasons alone.  But when we do, its oh so yummy!  So thank  you Diana, for inviting us and having us out :)

This is why everything tastes so yummy!

Photo ops everywhere!

This was just super yummy!

Mmmm, sugary fruit!

Only about 1/2 the Spread

Almost finished...

MOM!  I'm hungry! See my sad puppy eyes!

Hunger makes the hubby goofy.  Think his step dad has had enough and wants no kissy face!

The chef and her creations :)

Food was amazing.  Now back to Diet Land :)

Too Much Chocolate Cake

Friday was my co-worker (and friend) Suzie's birthday, and I wanted to make her a cake that I have been promising for a year now.  She loves chocolate almost as much as my hubby and daughter, so I thought it would be appropriate to make her a cake called Too Much Chocolate cake.  I found the recipe a couple of years ago, made it a couple of time but never had the confidence to actually bring it to work to share :)

There is nothing healthy about this.  AT ALL.  Im sure that changes can be made to slim the cal/fat down but since I planned on leaving this cake at work, I didnt bother (evil, yes, I know!).

Too Much Chocolate Cake

Source: allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini)

Directions
 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.

3. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.

Being the good friend that I am, I also chose to add a chocolate drizzle as well. Of course, that is completely optional, but at this point... whats a few hundres more calories?

Chocoloate Drizzle:

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

3 tbsp butter

1 tbsp honey (I didnt have corn syrup, so used this instead)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pop in microwave until melted (or you could do the double boiler bit)

Drizzle over cake.  Enjoy!

 

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

First off, I hate apartment indoor lighting.

I don't have much of a sweet tooth (although I think my hubby's and daughter's LOVE of all things sugary is starting to rub off on me), but one thing that I adore is a good cookie. I can eat the heck out of some fresh baked cookies. Cookie monster aint got nothing on me!

Sad to say, but I am a pretty novice cook, that has not made many desserts before, so I was looking for a fairly easy, and would it be possibe...a fairly healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe? I was in luck. I spied a lovely recipe via Ginas Skinny Recipes by Gina  I'm going to pretty much post her recipe word for word because there was no need (IMO) to change anything. It was sooo yummy!

Low Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Via Ginas Skinny Recipes by Gina

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar

1 large egg (I used 1/4 cup eggbeaters)

1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups quick oats

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°; line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, with a mixer, cream together the butter and the sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, followed by the applesauce and vanilla extract. Working by hand, stir in the flour mixture and the oats until just combined and no streaks of flour remain; stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop heaping tablespoonfuls (approx 1 tbsp each) of the dough onto prepared baking sheets, flattening each cookie slightly.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until cookies become light brown at the edges.

Let cool on baking sheet for 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

These were sooo good! They didnt last past the weekend :)

Nutritional Info:

Serving Size: 2 cookies

Points+: 5 pts

Calories: 190

Fat: 6.3 g

Protein: 2.6 g

Carb: 34.2 g

Fiber: 2.0 g

Sugar: 19.3 g