LowCarbKaye

I’ve never pounded chicken out into a paillard (though I’ve seen it done on TV often enough to know that’s what it’s called, though usually with a different cooking treatment than this). So this was new for me on several levels.

Chicken Stuffed with Spinach and Cottage Cheese

Prep work is faster if you gather all of your utensils and ingredients before you start. This is what’s called “mise en place” in the culinary world.

1/2 of a 10 or 12-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

dash salt

dash pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 cup cottage cheese

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Large heavy-duty (freezer) zip-top bag

Meat tenderizer mallet

Toothpicks or bamboo skewers, cut into 3-4″ pieces

1 tbsp butter, melted

1/8 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9 x 9-inch baking dish.
 
In a medium bowl, combine spinach, salt, pepper, onion powder, and cottage cheese. Mix well; set aside.

I ended up with over 1/4 cup too much filling because I used 1/2 a bag of a 12-ounce package of spinach.

Using the zip-top bag and the smooth side of the meat mallet, working with one breast at a time, pound chicken to about 1/4-inch thickness. Work from the center out and do not pound too close to the edges.

A small, heavy-bottom pan will work if you don’t have a meat mallet.

When both breasts are pounded thin, lay each out on a piece of foil or waxed paper, smooth side-down. Trim any dangling pieces. Place about half of cheese/spinach mixture in the center of each and fold in half. Because the paillards won’t be the same size, you may need to adjust the amount of filling to ensure that the meat will close securely around it.

Just as with pastry-and-fruit turnovers, you don’t want your filling to ooze out, so don’t add too much or get it all the way out to the edges of the meat.

Secure edges of meat with toothpicks or skewer pieces and place in baking dish. (Don’t forget to wash your hands at this point!) Melt butter and mix with garlic powder and drizzle over chicken.

I didn’t have toothpicks, so I used skewers, cut into a few pieces, to secure the edges of the chicken. “Stitch” them through the top and bottom edges of the meat to secure.

Bake 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.
 
Yield: 2 servings
 
4 grams net carbs

Because the chicken is skinless, it doesn’t actually brown when cooked like this. They may not look it, but these were completely cooked through. To remove the skewers before serving, carefully grab the ends and twist until they loosen enough to pull out.

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The prep work on this took a little longer than I typically like to take when making dinner after working all day, but it was easy. And, let’s face it, ten minutes of pounding something with a hammer is a pretty good stress release. 🙂

While these turned out the way I’m sure they were supposed to, they were very bland. Next time, I’ll probably try it with cream cheese instead of cottage cheese and add . . . something. Something that will give it more flavor. Also, the chicken should probably be lightly seasoned with salt and pepper before adding the spinach mixture.

I drizzled my chicken (and the green beans I had to go with it) with the au jus straight from the pan, but the chicken was still juicy enough that this wasn’t really necessary for anything other than the additional flavor from the butter/garlic.

Maybe if the garlic butter were spread inside the chicken before stuffing, that might add more flavor? Not sure. This one is worth experimenting with.

My New Year’s resolution, if you want to call it that, is twofold: one, to go low carb this year; and two, to get to Curves to workout 3 times a week, even if it means dragging my tired self up there on a Saturday to get in that third workout.

As part of this, I spent a lot of time in December collecting recipes and starting some meal planning. And I decided a fun way to keep up with the low-carb lifestyle change is to force myself to try new things and to do more than just “meat and vege” for dinner every night or a salad for lunch every day. So I’ve set up a One Note notebook which contains not just my weekly meal plan page but also all of the low-carb recipes I want to try (and I’ve saved this to my SkyDrive so that I can access it not just on my computer but on my tablet and phone, too, with the ON app). Most of them, I’ll be adjusting from their 4-6 servings down to a 2-serving size (which covers an extra meal for later in the week). I’ll also be blogging the recipes after cooking/eating them, because I want to be able to honestly review how they turn out and what, if any, changes I’d make to the recipe if I choose to try it again. So, let’s get started. Changes I made this time are indicated in parentheses.

Bacon & Cheddar Frittata
 
6 eggs
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onion*
5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (3/4 cup premium bacon bits)
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
 
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 7-11″ (9×9-inch) baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
 
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, butter, salt and pepper. Stir in green onions, bacon, and cheese. Pour into prepared dish and bake, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes (35-40 in toaster oven) until a knife inserted in center comes out clean (until just set in the center).

Ready to go in the oven!

All packaged up and ready to go to work!

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This is a good, basic frittata recipe. I usually do these in a muffin tin, but I did it in a 9×9 pan instead, and I think it cooked more evenly that way. I used the toaster oven, so it took a little longer to cook than it might in a regular oven, so the original time is probably correct. You want to check it at the shortest time and take it out when it’s just set in the center, then let it sit on the counter to cool completely, if you plan to package it to be re-heated later. If you are going to serve it immediately, you’ll want to cook it until that inserted knife comes out clean.

*In the future, if I make this again, I would omit the green onions–even a quarter cup of them were way too strong. I would, instead, soften some chopped white onion in olive oil or butter and add that, also probably around 1/4 cup. I’d probably add more cheese, too.

One of these recipes (the alternative egg rolls) was in the Hungry Girl e-mail today. The other one is a recipe that I found a while back and adjusted to work with the ingredients I like to work with.

Asian-style Chicken Lettuce Wraps
If you like the lettuce-wraps appetizers at PF Chang’s, you’ll love this low-fat, healthier alternative.

2 Tbsp. light/low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp. Splenda brown sugar blend, not packed (if you’d prefer to use real brown sugar, increase quantity to 1 Tbsp.)
2 tsp. chili garlic sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
8 — 10 ounces boneless skinless chicken, cooked and cubed
1 cup canned water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 cup bean sprouts (I use the fresh ones from the produce section rather than the canned)
3/4 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms (optional)
1/2 cup chopped scallions/green onions
8–12 leaves from lettuce such as iceburg, hearts of Romaine (not the dark-green, leafy exterior leaves), bibb, or escarole. You could also use green or red cabbage, if that’s more to your taste.

To prepare sauce, in a small bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, chili-garlic sauce, and sesame oil. Stir well and set aside.

In a large skillet preheated over medium heat, combine chicken, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, and mushrooms (if using). Saute about 1 minute. Add the sauce and stir to combine well. Cook 2–3 minutes more, until sauce begins to thicken slightly. Add scallions, stir, and cook 1 additional minute.

Divide mixture evenly between the lettuce “cups” and wrap up to eat.

Makes a meal for 2, appetizers for 4 to 6 people.

Nutritional Info (for the entire recipe, based on 8 oz. of chicken):
Calories: 560
Fat: 11 g
Carbs: 38.5 g (8.3 g dietary fiber)
Protein: 76 g

On the Weight Watchers Simply Filling (nee Core) plan, if you eat half the recipe as a meal, count 1 Point (for the Splenda and the oil).

Low-Fat Egg Rolls

Ingredients:
6 large square egg roll wrappers (found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket with the other Asian items)
4 cups (about half of a 12-oz. bag) dry coleslaw mix
One 6-oz. can (4 oz. drained) tiny shrimp, drained
1/2 cup canned water chestnuts, drained and sliced into strips
1/4 cup bean sprouts, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced widthwise
2 tbsp. light or low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. crushed garlic
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. salt
dash pepper
Optional: sweet & sour sauce, for dipping

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place slaw mix in a microwave-safe bowl with 2 tbsp. of water, cover, and microwave for 2 minutes. Drain any excess water, and transfer slaw mix to a large bowl. Add all other ingredients except for the wrappers, mix well, and set aside. (For more intense flavor, allow mixture to marinate in the fridge for 20 minutes.) Prepare a large baking sheet by spraying it lightly with nonstick spray.

Place two egg roll wrappers on a clean, dry surface. Evenly distribute about 1/2 cup of the mixture onto each wrapper, in a row a little below the center. Moisten all four edges of each wrapper by dabbing your fingers in water and going over the edges smoothly.

Fold the sides of each wrapper about 3/4-inch towards the middle, to keep the mixture from falling out of the sides. Then, roll the bottom of each wrapper up aroun d the mixture, and continue rolling until you reach the top. Seal the outside edge with another dab of water. Carefully transfer egg rolls to the baking sheet.

Repeat process twice with remaining wrappers and filling, making sure you have a clean, dry surface each time.

Spray the tops of the egg rolls with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly. If you like, dip egg rolls in some sweet & sour sauce!

MAKES 3 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 2 egg rolls
Calories: 189
Fat: 0.75g
Sodium: 949mg
Carbs: 33.5g
Fiber: 3.5g
Sugars: 5g
Protein: 12.5g

Weight Watchers POINTS® value 3