When Will saw me starting to steam broccoli for this dish, he couldn’t help but let out a little cheer. It’s his very favorite vegetable — and has been since he was a toddler. Even though he’s loved it for much of his six years, I am always caught off guard by his excitement. When I was a child broccoli wasn’t high on my list. Unless it was drowned in cheese sauce, of course, but that kind of defeats the purpose. No?

But even though his enthusiasm for broccoli surprises me, I try really hard never to let my preferences color Will’s or Paige’s. I never ever want them to not try something — or worse, to dislike something — because I’m not as excited by it. I’d much rather they make their own decisions about foods — and they do.

These days though, I do like broccoli too. But I especially like it when it’s tossed with a delicious sauce like in this Baked Ginger Sesame Chicken and Broccoli. It’s a sweet-salty-savory dish with Asian inspiration. The marinated chicken soaks in all the flavors of the marinade, and then the steamed broccoli is enhanced by a quick toss with some reserved marinade, which really ties it all together.

This dish starts with an easy homemade ginger sesame sauce/marinate. You whisk the four simple ingredients together and reserve a little. Then the rest is used to marinate the chicken. You can grate your own ginger for this, or use some of this frozen crushed ginger. Either works great.

Marinate the chicken in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Longer is better though. Then you bake it — it takes about 14 minutes in the oven, total.

Then you serve it over rice with the broccoli. It’s easy — and fairly fast to make. We like it as a simple school night dinner, but it works any night.

Time to switch gears … I just don’t have a good transition for this one. Let’s just pretend I do. Please?

On to Eat. Live. Be. … Earlier this week, I sent Cate a quick message asking her what this week’s theme was for Eat. Live. Be. Reboot. I was so relieved when she said online. I knew just what I would be talking about.

See, when Eat. Live. Be. was in full swing earlier this year, I gave myself a big boost by joining Weight Watchers Online. It was just what I needed right when I needed it — the accountability, the structure, the reality-view of what I was eating. But then summer came and tracking became a nuisance. Toward the end of summer, I canceled my subscription. Throughout that whole time, I kept my weight off — despite not tracking.

It’s amazing how quickly you can get off track though. For me, it started with my asthma acting up. I wasn’t exercising. I ate more. And then, I had to take a very necessary medication to fix my asthma problem — that causes two serious side effects in me: a huge, unstoppable appetite and sleeplessness. Then the holidays came and before I knew it, I had drifted far from my healthy habits.

When I made the commitment to reboot my efforts though, I knew I needed that kick in the pants to really get moving and back on track fast. Guess where I turned? Weight Watchers Online again. I like that the program is flexible enough to accommodate my unusual lifestyle — which includes testing at least a half-dozen recipes each week — but structured enough to create a boundary for me when it comes to eating. I really need boundaries. I have high hopes.

Be sure to check in on the Eat. Live. Be. For a Better 2011 Facebook page to see what all the ELB’ers are up to this week, and where they are finding inspiration and motivation online.

Baked Ginger Sesame Chicken and Broccoli
serves 4, plus leftovers

1 1/2 lb raw chicken breast tender pieces
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp grated ginger
4 cups broccoli florets
sesame seeds (optional)
white rice, cooked

Rinse the chicken under cool water and then place in a large bowl to marinate.

Whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil and ginger. Reserve 2 tablespoons of marinade and then pour the remainder over the chicken. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes to marinate.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet, discarding any used marinade. Bake for 7 minutes then flip and cook for another 7 minutes, or until cooked through.

Meanwhile, steam the broccoli until tender (about 10 minutes). Once it’s cooked, remove to a medium mixing bowl and toss to coat with the reserved sauce/marinade.

Serve the chicken and broccoli over rice.

The other night, when I was at Cate‘s house for our Blogger Thanksgiving fest, we were reheating a batch of these Homemade Seasoned Baked Chicken Nuggets that I made for the kids. Cate asked me if they were done right after I’d checked on them, and I said “No, they aren’t humming yet.”

It never occurred to me that would be a weird thing to say. It never occurred to me that the idea of food humming is something that not everyone thinks. Or hears. Or says. Yea. But Patsy, Joanne and Cate set me straight. It’s definitely a Sarah-ism. (In my defense, that’s really what I look for whenever I reheat food — the hum of sizzling warmed food.)

So, about the chicken nuggets … honestly, I had never thought of making my own until a recent Skinny Chicken Nuggets post on Tablespoon set off a wild obsession with baked chicken nuggets for me. My kids love chicken nuggets (I think it’s written somewhere in the kid handbook that they have to), and I like feeding them good, wholesome, homemade food that doesn’t take long to make.

Ding. Ding. Ding! We have a winner.

These start with fresh breadcrumbs made from leftover bread (I use the ends of loaves). Just whirl it in a food processor into fine crumbs. Why fresh? Two reasons: one, the taste is just better and two, you can control the type of bread you use — like that favorite 12-grain that is omnipresent in your kitchen. So, once you have those fresh crumbs, you toast one cup of the crumbs with a clove of chopped garlic in a hot skillet until golden brown. If you have extra breadcrumbs, toast them in a resealable bag and freeze until ready to use.

Once the crumbs are toasted, whirl them again in the food processor with the garlic, salt, pepper and paprika. This will ensure that the seasonings are well-distributed throughout.

Now, for the chicken, you need to cut chicken tenderloins into nugget size pieces. Don’t worry. It only takes a minute or two. Aim for 1″x1″ pieces.

Dredge the chicken in the seasoned breadcrumbs.

Seasoned Baked Chicken Nuggets
serves 4

Cooking oil spray
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (run a slice or two through the food processor)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
1 lb chicken tenderloins, cut into 1″ pieces

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil (or regular foil sprayed with cooking oil).

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat on the stove. Spray lightly with cooking oil spray. Add the breadcrumbs and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer to a food processor and add the salt, pepper and paprika. Whirl until well combined. Pour into a bowl.

Spray the chicken pieces with cooking oil spray. Then, dredge each one into the breadcrumb mixture, coating all over. Transfer to the baking sheet. Nuggets can be super close together, but shouldn’t touch. Once all the nuggets have been breaded, spray lightly with cooking oil.

Slide the baking sheet into the oven. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the downside is golden. Flip all the nuggets. Then bake for another 5 minutes.

Serve immediately.

To reheat: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the cooked chicken nuggets on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, until they are humming sizzling.

For awhile there, my freelance writing business was booming. In fact, it was so big that I ended up letting go of a few lower paying clients. But this summer, one of my clients cut my workload (and my pay) in half. At first, it was kind of an abstract this sucks kind of thing.

But this month is when it really hit me. My income was substantially reduced, and suddenly I need to budget really well again. That means no more trips for after-school lattes for me and cake pops for the kids. That means using coupons again and paying attention to the sales flyers. That means seeking out work and making due in the meantime. (Anyone looking for a recipe developer/journalist/writer/blogger?)

As a result, I’ve been looking to less-expensive meals that are both easy and meet our expectation for really delicious dinners. Chicken drumsticks are a great budget-stretching meat to have in the rotation. Not to be confused with the mini ones that are a popular game day food, chicken drumsticks are larger and meatier. Two pounds of drumsticks with a couple of sides is perfect for my family, though you might want to go to three pounds if you are big eaters. The glaze recipe could be stretched to glaze another pound of drumsticks — or it’s easy to make a little extra.

These Baked Sticky Orange Chicken Drumsticks are delicious. They go perfectly with Kale and Bacon Fried Rice and a salad. And it can all be ready in under 30 minutes — totally easy too.

Also see Crunchy Oven-Fried Chicken Drumsticks.

I came up with this recipe after spying a similar one in an old food magazine. The original recipe from Every Day Food called for basting with marmalade only. However, I find marmalade to be too tart for our tastes. But combining the marmalade with soy sauce and rice vinegar, the sharp tartness is toned down and a richness is added without losing the orange flavor. The reaction was huge — everyone loved the sticky coating.

Do you have to watch your food budget too? How do you do it?

Baked Sticky Orange Drumsticks
serves 4
adapted heavily from Every Day Food, April 2009

2 lbs chicken drumsticks (5-6)
kosher salt and ground black pepper
1/3 cup orange marmalade
1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line a baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil.

Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Then, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper all over. Arrange on the baking sheet (don’t let the pieces touch).

Bake for 10 minutes.

While the chicken is baking, whisk together the marmalade, soy sauce and rice vinegar. Pull the chicken out and baste with 1/2 of the marmalade mixture. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

Take the chicken out again and baste with the remaining marmalade mixture. Return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes more.

Let cool for 10 minutes before enjoying.

As a result, I try hard to not have leftovers from dinner. I make just enough. But sometimes leftovers can’t be avoided. For instance, earlier this week I was working on a recipe for Tablespoon that called for using leftover roasted chicken. I ended up buying a whole roasted chicken at the grocery store but only used a portion of it to finish off the recipe. A little of the chicken became Paige’s lunch one day, but there was still a good amount left. I hated seeing it there, knowing that it would go to waste if I didn’t do something.

Of course, I didn’t want to just eat it. With chicken especially, I am much happier when it becomes part of a whole new meal. Putting it on a salad was an option. But I had nachos on the brain and I’ve been on a long quest to make chicken work on nachos. Often, I feel like when you pair chicken with traditional nacho toppings it ends up seeming out of place — like your Thanksgiving dinner got into an argument with fiesta night. The flavors is just so different.

But I had an epiphany recently. If the chicken’s flavor was more Tex-Mex then it would blend in better. It’s a matter of narrowing the gap between the flavors. So I tried it (what good is a theory if you don’t?). It worked. All it takes is shredding the chicken and mixing it with a little salsa to make it a perfect nacho topping. Sweet.

Making these nachos, which make a perfect easy dinner, is simple as can be. Tortilla chips are topped with the chicken mixture, a load of black beans and red peppers. Then it’s all baked with a blanket of cheddar. Serve it with salsa, sour cream, guacamole or whatever you love with your nachos.

Did I mention that it’s ready in a mere 15 minutes, start to finish? Go ahead. Try them tonight. You totally have time.

What do you do with your leftovers?

Shredded Chicken and Black Bean Nachos
serves 4

2 cups shredded cooked chicken (such as from a roasted chicken)
1/2 cup salsa (I use mild for the kids but prefer hot myself)
tortilla chips (roughly 4 cups)
1 15.5-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup chopped fresh red bell pepper
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
salsa, sour cream, guacamole, etc as desired

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl, stir together the chicken and salsa.

Arrange the tortilla chips in a 9×13 baking dish. Top with the chicken mixture and the black beans. Sprinkle with red peppers. Spread the cheddar all around.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is all melted.

Let cool for 2-3 minutes before serving.

—————-

More Recipes for Leftover Chicken:

- Chicken, Avocado and Red Pepper Rice Bowl

- Greek Chicken Salad Sandwiches

- Lighter Chicken Enchiladas

Ahoy, me hearties. Today be buccanneer tide at me office. Me work shipmates an’ I dressed up like sea dogs. Thar be sea dog foods, games an’ treasure. It be a great, grand day.

I’m a big, huge, gigantic pirate fan. After hearing legends as a child of Captain Kidd allegedly burying treasure off the New England coast, I just fell in love with the lore and romantic pirate histories. Of course, the reality was far less romantic. My interest is more Captain Jack Sparrow than real-life pirates. (And for the record, I know that real life pirates are nasty … nothing like Jack.)

When my editor suggested we have a pirate party to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day this week, I was all for it. I might have yelped in glee, but who’s counting? Today was our party (though the actual day was Sept. 19).

This was our treasure chest — filled with a few fun prizes for the pirate trivia game (I won!) and the hook game (we had to use a homemade hook hand to pick up five pretzels. That takes skills. Did I mention that my coworkers are awesome?

Oh, and of course we dressed up. Why would anyone skip the opportunity to dress like a pirate? Arggggg!

For my contribution to lunch, I brought a plate of Chicken Daggers, a fun take on skewers that’s fashioned after daggers (as in the knife). My coworkers brought fun pirate foods like anti-scurvy fruit salad and walk the plank cookies.

Making them is simple – you marinate strips of chicken (I cut mine from chicken breasts) until they are filled with flavor. Then you thread the chicken onto skewers with a thick slice of pepper and a pineapple chunk (the dagger handle). Once that’s all done, all you need to do is cook them.

Fun, right?

And hey, these aren’t just for Talk Like a Pirate Day. They’re allow a perfect food for a Halloween party. Think how awesome the daggers would look on a spooky buffet.

Chicken Daggers
serves 4

1 lb boneless skinless chicken, cut into strips
jerk or teriyaki marinade
thick-sliced peppers
pineapple chunks

Special: wooden skewers, soaked for 30 minutes right before using

Place the chicken into a resealable bag and add marinade to coat. Seal the bag and chill for 2 hours.

Prepare the daggers: Thread one strip of chicken onto each skewer, followed by a pepper slice and a pineapple chunk. Repeat until all the chicken as been used.

Heat your grill to its medium setting. Once it’s hot (about 5 minutes), cook the skewers for 3-5 minutes/side until cooked through. Remove from the grill.

Serve hot or cold.

Does this plate look familiar? It should. It’s the same plate from the Herbed Grilled Red Potatoes, just shown at a different angle. Generally, I don’t end up photographing two new dishes at the same time, but when this super simple chicken dish worked out so well that I wanted to share it.

But I have to warn you. This recipe is so simple, it almost doesn’t need to be presented in recipe format. But I think that sometimes even simple things are easiest to glance and cook with so the recipe is below. Look, it’s worth it.

Grilled Caesar Chicken Strips are a new take on the classic Italian dressing-marinated grilled chicken. Basically, you make a really flavorful, easy and fast chicken tender dish (strips of chicken breasts can be used instead, if you can’t find chicken tenders) and marinate it in Caesar dressing. Then it’s grilled to perfection.

They are just perfect served with a salad. Though, it doesn’t have to be a Caesar salad (but that could be amazing).

Grilled Caesar Chicken Strips
serves 4

1 lb chicken tenders (raw chicken)
1 cup Caesar dressing

Combine the chicken and Caesar dressing in a resealable container or bag. Marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the grill up to its medium setting (or prepare the charcoal for grilling). Once the chicken is marinate, Lay it across the grates. Cook for about 3-5 minutes per side, flipping once, until cooked through.

Serve immediately with a salad.

My grandmother was an amazing, vivacious, full-of-life woman who loved days at the beach, fresh corn bought from farms in the summer (long before it was en vogue again to do so) and green grapes. She did not, however, love to cook. Though she could make a mean spaghetti sauce and great lasagna and she cooked almost every day, it just didn’t fall into the category of things she loved to do. She did it because she had to — to feed her family.

A while back, I was gifted my grandmother’s 1950 edition of Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook. It was one of only a few cookbooks that she owned, and is well-worn, with a peeling binding to prove it (any tips on fixing that?). Inside the book is a glimpse into cooking more than 60 years ago, something I love reading about. I have a whole collection of mid-century cookbooks and find them fascinating. But this cookbook is more than that … it’s a glimpse into how my grandmother cooked when she was about my age. Along with the occasional notes in the margin are recipe clippings from magazines and handwritten recipes that she stuck in there over the years.

It was in the pages of that cookbook that I found a slip of paper with a recipe for Chicken Cordon Blue written on it in my grandmother’s handwriting. Immediately I recognized the small paper, torn from the camel-colored notebook that she carried with her everywhere. It was in that notebook that she wrote grocery lists, things to remember and recipes given from neighbor to neighbor in the course of conversation.

I can practically feel the pebbled vinyl (I think) exterior as I write about that notebook, which was omnipresent in her purse. But while I knew the handwriting instantly, I couldn’t remember her ever making this dish — at least not from scratch. Nonetheless, I decided to try making this recipe first.

As these things go — attempting something I haven’t made before with sparse directions — I started making this a little later than I should have, misjudging how long prepping it would take. And when I got stumped on a step (how much oil should I be using anyway?!?), a few rushed phone calls yielded me the answer … and confirmation that this wasn’t my grandmother’s Chicken Cordon Blue, but rather likely a recipe she got from Mrs. S, the neighbor across the street.

I had to laugh when I realized that it wasn’t my grandmother’s own recipe, especially since that thought had been in my head the whole time. I mean, there is no way she would have used this many dishes and taken this many steps to make dinner (unless it was lasagna … but that’s different). No matter. It’s a great recipe for a delicious dish — and one that I plan to make again and again.

Don’t worry. It’s not that complicated. Chicken Cordon Blue starts with thin slices of raw chicken, seasoned lightly with salt and pepper and rolled with ham and Swiss cheese. You can buy them already thin-sliced or pound it thin, like I did. If you pound them, they may need to be cut into smaller pieces. Ultimately you should have 4-5 pieces of thin chicken breast for this dish.

Anyway, once they’re all rolled, I secure the chicken with toothpicks to ensure that the rolls stay put.

Then the rolls are breaded. Breading is a simple thing — just dredging in flour, egg and unseasoned breadcrumbs. Finally, it’s cooked — first by pan-frying to brown it and then baking it to finish it off.

All in all, you need between 45 minutes and an hour to make this. It’s not the fastest or simplest dish you’ll make, but I can attest that it’s delicious and really not that complicated. And frankly, it’s one of the best Chicken Cordon Blues I have ever had.

Chicken Cordon Blue
(Traditionally known as Chicken Cordon Bleu)
serves 4

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken, either thin breasts or pounded thin (4-5 pieces)
salt and pepper
4-5 slices deli Virginia ham (you need one for each chicken breast)
4-5 slices deli Swiss cheese
all-purpose flour
1-2 large eggs, beaten (I start with one and add a second if necessary)
unseasoned breadcrumbs
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lay out the chicken slices. Season lightly with salt and pepper on both sides. Top each one with a slice of Virginia ham and a slice of Swiss cheese. Roll up and secure with toothpicks.

Lay out three bowls for dredging and put flour in one, egg in the second and breadcrumbs in the third. Dredge each chicken roll first in flour, then in egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. Set aside.

In a deep, oven-safe skillet, add the olive oil and heat over medium heat. Once it’s hot, place the chicken in the pan and cook for4-5 minutes per side until browned. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through

EDITED TO ADD: Traditionally, this dish is called Chicken Cordon Bleu. Cordon Bleu translates as “blue ribbon.” But I went with the alternative spelling because that’s how my grandmother wrote it. But yes, I do know the correct name of dish. Swear!

Let’s talk meatballs today. Frankly, I think meatballs can be challenging to make since there is so much that can go wrong. Too dry, too crisp, too flavorless … these are all common problems, and you have to do your best to avoid them.

Then there is the cooking method controversy. Should they be baked? Fried? Both? I’ve always been in the just-bake-em club. And that works. They get crisp on the outside,  tender on the inside. And then you toss them into sauce for a few minutes before serving them and it’s just perfect.

Except, it’s not perfect. The baking method works great for beef-based meatballs and reasonably well for turkey meatballs. But chicken meatballs are really hit and miss from the oven.

When I visited Minneapolis in November, I discovered how amazing a well-cooked chicken meatball can be. While I was there, I had the most amazing meatballs I’ve ever had. They were made from chicken and foie gras, and were buttery, soft and almost airy. Seriously, the only word to adequately describe them is ethereal.

At the time, I thought that restaurant had some secret – something that made their amazing meatballs out of reach for the common cook. Honestly, I know I will never duplicate the meatballs entirely since foie gras isn’t something I have extensive access to.

But the texture? That sublime light texture? I can do it. And although it’s not the same amazing flavor, these meatballs have a lot of flavor of their own. It’s not the same, but it’s still fabulous — the best chicken meatballs I’ve ever made. And the secret to getting there? 1) Cooking them on the stovetop — part frying, part braising (or is this boiling? I think it’s braising, but that term always trips me up). And 2) ketchup in the meatball. No, really. It doesn’t make the meatballs taste like ketchup, but does add this hint of flavor that you aren’t expecting. Yum.

Thank you, Cate, for introducing me to these fabulous chicken meatballs.

Almost Ethereal Chicken Meatballs
serves 4
Adapted very slightly from a recipe by Giada DeLaurentis via Sweetnicks

1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon lowfat milk
1 tablespoon ketchup
3/4 cup freshly grated Romano, plus additional for garnish
salt and pepper, to taste
1 pound ground chicken
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup no salt chicken broth

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

While the oil is heating, combine the breadcrumbs, parsley, eggs, milk, ketchup, Romano cheese, salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Stir well to combine. The mixture will be loose.

Using a cookie scoop (or melon baller), scoop the chicken mixture out and drop into the heated oil. Cook, without disturbing, for about 2 minutes and then flip and cook for an additional two minutes. You want to just brown the tops and bottoms of the meatballs. Transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate and continue cooking the meatballs in batches until they are all cooked.

Return the meatballs to the skillet and pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the meatballs are fully cooked.

SERVING SUGGESTION: Serve the meatballs over gnocchi with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of Romano cheese and sea salt.

We’ve had three big snowstorms in as many weeks here — and yesterday there was over two feet to dig out. I haven’t seen snow like this in years. It reminds me of a massive storm when I was in elementary school that knocked out power for days and closed schools for a week or so. There’s just so much snow — we’re out of places to shovel it to.

Yesterday morning, before I had my morning coffee or ate a stitch of breakfast, I went outside in the heavy snow to shovel for my dogs. My back door — the one the dogs use — wouldn’t open with the heavy snow outside and even if it did, they couldn’t walk in snow over their head. So I had to trek in waist-high snow (we still have lots of snow from the last two storms) to the back to shovel the stairs, porch and a little area for the dogs to walk in.

The tail-end of the storm -- the photo is fuzzy because it was still snowing really hard.

Walking through (in?) snow that deep was amazing. As adults, we don’t often get that feeling of snow creeping up so high that walking becomes a herculean effort. And in some ways, it was overwhelming too — especially when I paused to consider that I couldn’t even see our road for much of the day.

There’s some ironic contrast here that I intended to write about Pineapple Chicken yesterday – a bright, sunny, vibrant dish – on a day that was darkened by lingering clouds and mounds of snow so high that I can barely see over them. Of course, after shoveling the roughly 29-inches of freshly fallen snow, I was too tired to do anything. Thank goodness for good neighbors and a Good Samaritan who all pitched in to get my driveway — and my neighbor’s — cleared. I really don’t know what would have happened if I had to actually shovel our entire long, wide driveway by myself.

Switching gears, let’s talk chicken. Pineapple Chicken. I had some chicken in the fridge begging to be used the other day. I’d taken it out by mistake and needed to use it or face wasting it. And I really didn’t want to waste it. So, while picking up a few things at the grocery store, the idea for this recipe started to form — chicken, pineapple, a little teriyaki… all served over fluffy rice. I love sweet flavors mingling with savory, and especially fruits like pineapple paired with chicken.

In fact, when I served this, the kids were a little skeptical at first but upon trying it, Will said, ” Wow, Mommy! This is good!” and polished off his plate. Paige too.

I served this with some defrosted (precooked) edamame that I had in the freezer, but broccoli would be a good side dish too.

Do you like sweet/savory dishes?

Pineapple Chicken
serves 4

olive oil spray
1 1/4 lb chicken tenders (uncooked, found near the chicken breasts)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 20 can crushed pineapple
1/3 cup low-sodium teriyaki sauce
1 tsp cornstarch

Heat a deep skillet with a lid over medium heat (uncovered) for 5 minutes. Spray with olive oil.

Add the chicken and lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side until it’s just browned (not cooked through).

Add the crushed pineapple (with the juices in the can) and the teriyaki sauce, taking care to evenly distribute it over the chicken. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pan and whisk in the cornstarch. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.

Serve the chicken over rice, spooning 1/4 of the pineapple and sauce over each portion.

Easy Low-Fat Salt and Pepper Chicken, Take Two

If you are a longtime reader of Sarah’s Cucina Bella, you might remember my recipes for Easy Low-Fat Salt and Pepper Chicken Breasts. It was a long post with adorable pictures of the kids, and a bad picture of the chicken. On Tuesday, I had the chance to reshoot this recipe with the help of professionals to figure out how to take something basic like this and make it look fabulous. The photo above is the result.

When I created my (ridiculously easy) recipe for Salt and Pepper Chicken, I was clueless how to make it look tasty in a photograph. I ended up tossing one piece on a white plate and snapping a picture.

The original photo ... Would you crave that?

And did it look irresistible? Like that special, easy recipe that everyone should have in their back pocket to make when you have no time to cook dinner or when you need a lightly seasoned chicken breast for topping a salad or drizzling with an extra special sauce? Um. No. That’s the original photo at the right … See how it looked more like a bland piece of chicken? The darkness and poor lighting didn’t help anything at all. I doubt anyone gave it a second look.

As a food writer who has had to learn to shoot photographs of the dishes and recipes I create, it’s been an uphill battle. This photograph frustrated me, but I just wasn’t sure what to do about it.

Yea.

So, when my buddies (and coworkers!) at Tablespoon asked me to choose a couple potential recipes for my photography lesson with General Mills pros on my recent trip, this one topped the list. Fortunately, they agreed.

A closer look ...

The food stylist suggested turning this one recipe into a meal on a plate for better photographing. She made some couscous as a side dish, and that doubled as a way to prop up the chicken, giving it more body in the photograph. For a vegetable, we used a few carefully placed fresh cooked green beans. What a big change, right? I can hardly believe that I took these photos.

I learned so much during my training session, so I wanted to pass along a few tips for you too …

5 Food Photography Tips for the Non-Photographer

1. Don’t just pick a plate. It’s important that the color and shape of the plate compliments the food. Hold a few up to see which works the best with the colors in whatever you are photographing … or even try the food out on it first. Don’t be afraid to shoot a test shot to see which looks better in the digital realm.
2. Go small. The smaller the plate, the better your food will look — you really don’t want all that empty space around it, since it will just make the food look diminutive.
3. Take test shots. Trying to decide which place mat or napkin to use? Choose a few, and put them around the plate so you can compare how they look. Then take a test shot and whittle the linens down. Same goes for plates and other decorations.
4. Use either complimentary or contrasting colors. You can’t just choose red because you like it. Instead, consider using similar colors (such as a green napkin and plate) or contrasting ones (such as a dark brown plate and a pale khaki napkin). This will make the food stand out.
5. Don’t let the props/plates/background be distracting. Ultimately, you want the food to stand out, not the decorations that you put around it. So be sure the food is front and center and in focus (and remove anything that overshadows it).

Easy Low-Fat Salt and Pepper Chicken Breasts
serves 4

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
kosher salt
course black pepper
olive oil cooking spray

Heat a skillet over medium heat on your stove. Make sure the size of the skillet will hold all the chicken.

Rinse the chicken breasts in cool water and trim away any excess fat. Place in the center of a long (about two feet) sheet of wax paper and fold the paper over the chicken. Use the flat side of a meat mallet to pound the chicken to about 1/4-inch thickness.

Cut each breast into two even pieces. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper on both sides.

Spray the skillet with olive oil cooking spray. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for 5-7 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom side. Flip and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes until cooked through.

Remove the chicken from the pan and use as desired.