Light Chicken & Waffles

I have a real affinity for Southern style cooking, and luckily in the DC area we have a number of amazing restaurants that specialize in Southern cuisine. Soul food is not exactly known for being healthy though, so I have to limit how often we eat out at Southern style restaurants.

So imagine my delight when I stumbled across a healthy chicken 'n waffles recipe in my other new Hungry Girl cookbook! Chicken 'n waffles is one of those meals that always looks so delicious in restaurants, but typically too calorie-laden for me to justify ordering. (Instead, I make Rick order it so that I can sneak bites off of his plate!)

I was skeptical that this shortcut healthier version would taste good, especially when I picked up the box of Fiber One bran cereal at the grocery store - it honestly looked like something I would put in a bird feeder. I trust Hungry Girl though, so I followed her recipe and was very happy that I did!

The bran cereal made for a delicious, crispy coating for the chicken, and the flavor worked perfectly with the waffles and syrup. I often have difficulty with cooking chicken on the stove, because it seems to take forever for the chicken to cook through, but the key here was to use very thin-cut chicken breast cutlets (you can also pound the chicken very thin if the grocery store doesn't sell the thin-cut ones). 

This recipe only made 2 servings, but you can easily double or triple the recipe. I made 4 servings, and Rick enjoyed the meal so much that he agreed to have the leftovers the very next night, which is rare! The entire meal took less than half an hour to make, and while I won't claim that it is a match for the chicken and waffles at Marvin, it is definitely healthier and worth making!

Light Chicken & Waffles

(from Hungry Girl "300 Under 300" Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Fiber One Original bran cereal
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
2 5oz raw boneless skinless thin-cut chicken breast cutlets (the thinner, the better!)
2 tbsp. liquid egg whites
2 frozen low-fat waffles
1/2 cup lite pancake syrup (I used Aunt Jemima lite syrup)

Directions:

1. Place cereal in a Ziplock bag and seal. Crush cereal with a meat mallet until it is a breadcrumb-like consistency. Add 1/8 teaspoon each of salt, black pepper, and garlic powder to the crumb mixture and shake well. Pour the crumbs onto a plate and set aside.

2. Place chicken cutlets in a bowl and season with remaining 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Pour liquid egg whites atop of chicken, then flip cutlets over to evenly coat. Transfer cutlets one at a time to the breadcrumb plate and evenly coat with the mixture on both sides.

3. Spray a large skillet with nonstick spray and bring to medium-high heat on the stove. Add breaded chicken and cook until the chicken is fully cooked and the outside is crispy, approximately 4 minutes per side.

4. While the cutlets are cooking, toast the waffles and place each on a separate plate. Pour syrup over each waffle, and when finished, place one of the chicken cutlets atop each waffle. 

Light Caramel Apple Cupcakes

One of the things that I love most about the fall is apples. I typically eat an apple every day, and I enjoy applesauce and apple butter, but I also love the not-so-healthy apple desserts. Apple pie, apple crisp, apple cake...my mouth is watering just thinking of the options!

This fall though, after a month of pretty unhealthy eating, I am on a mission to find apple desserts that won't be so detrimental to my waistline. My sister got me the Hungry Girl "Just Desserts" cookbook as an early birthday present, so I figured that I would start my search there. (Side note - I highly recommend the Hungry Girl cookbooks; the author is all about easy-to-make recipes with few ingredients.) And my first recipe attempt was a success!

Inspired by my in-laws' purchase of caramel apples during our recent apple picking adventure, I decided to try the Caramel Apple Cupcakes. The most time-consuming part of the recipe was peeling and dicing the apples, but otherwise it was a very easy process. Hungry Girl called for the cupcakes to be topped with chopped peanuts, but I didn't think they would add much so I left them off of the recipe, and I didn't hear any complaints! 

The result was delicious, low-cal cupcakes with just the right amount of apple flavor and enough sweetness to satisfy my dessert craving.

Light Caramel Apple Cupcakes

(adapted from Hungry Girl "Just Desserts: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories")

Ingredients:

2 cups peeled and diced apples (approx. 2-3 apples; I used a combination of sweet and tart apples)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 3/4 cups moist-style yellow cake mix
1/2 cup egg whites
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. fat-free, low-fat, or light caramel dip

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with foil baking cups, and spray with nonstick spray. *Note - don't forget to spray the cups with spray, because otherwise the cupcakes will stick!

2. In a medium bowl, sprinkle apples with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and toss to coat.

3. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, egg whites, baking powder, vanilla extract, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 3/4 cup of water. Whisk until smooth. 

4. Stir in the apple mixture. Evenly distribute mixture among cups in the muffin pan.

5. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, approximately 14-16 minutes.

6. Let the cupcakes cool completely (about 10 minutes in the pan and 30 minutes after being removed from the pan).

7. Spread cupcakes with caramel dip.

*Makes 12-14 cupcakes

Pappardelle with Sausage, Peppers, & Onions

I love this recipe. I was originally drawn in by the picture of the meal on The Cozy Apron's website, despite my ambivalence towards spicy Italian sausage. But I was totally sold on Italian sausage after taking my first bite of the finished product.

I was a little nervous that the recipe would be time-consuming to make because of the number of ingredients, but it was extremely easy and quick to throw together. I sliced the onion and peppers in advance so that I just had to throw everything together in the pot when I got home from work. And once you cut open the casing of the Italian sausage, the meat will easily come out in chunks, ready to be added to the pot. 

Rick and I were both thrilled with this fun twist on the standard sausage and peppers, and I can't wait to make it again!

Pappardelle with Sausage, Peppers, & Onions

(adapted from The Cozy Apron)

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive oil
3 spicy Italian sausage links, casings removed and crumbled into large chunks
1 onion, sliced
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp black pepper
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup white wine
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice (or fresh tomato, diced)
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, julienned
8 oz Pappardelle noodles, uncooked

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan or pot over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, brown the sausage for a few minutes on each side. Once the sausage is browned, remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon and place into a bowl. 2. Add the onion into the pot with the sausage drippings, and allow it to caramelize for approximately 5 minutes, stirring constantly. 3. Once the onion starts to become golden, add the salt, Italian seasoning and black pepper, and stir to combine. Then add in the bell peppers, and saute with the onion for about 2 minutes. 4. Add in the garlic, and once it becomes aromatic, add in the white wine and allow it to reduce for a few minutes, until almost completely reduced. 5. Add in the diced tomatoes with the juice, return the spicy Italian sausage back into the pot, and gently stir the mixture to combine. Allow it to simmer for about 3-4 minutes , then turn the heat off. 6. Add in the chopped parsley and about half of the basil; stir, and keep warm while you prepare the noodles. 7. Prepare the pappardelle noodles according to instructions on package. Drain the noodles and add them directly into the sauce, tossing the noodles with the sauce. 8. When serving noodles, garnish with a sprinkle of the remaining basil, and if desired, an extra drizzle of olive oil.

*Serves 4

Toby's Public House

It's about time that I write a post about one of my favorite places in Brooklyn, Toby's Public House. Ryan and I often go here on a night when we don't have plans and want really good food. It's a bar with a casual atmosphere and a brick oven stove where they make delicious food. We went there this weekend and it was as amazing as I remembered from my last visit there. There is also another location in Manhattan, which I haven't made it to yet, but I'm looking forward to trying. 

Toby's Public House in Brooklyn, is a small restaurant, on a residential street in South Slope. The service is relaxed, but always very friendly. There is usually about a half hour wait on the weekends. The bar is often jam packed and it's pretty noisy inside. I don't mind the noise, as I think it makes the place even more lively and fun. They have a full bar and a bunch of craft beers on draft. 

The menu changes frequently and there are often specials. We have tried a lot of the dishes and pizzas there. Our usual order, involves one of their small plates, a salad, and a pizza to share. On this particular night, we started with a chopped salad, which had romaine lettuce, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, chickpeas, red peppers, cauliflower, fennel, and feta, with lemon dressing. It's a nice size and the salads are great to share. For our small plate, we had meatballs, that were homemade and very flavorful. And then for our pizza, we tried something new and different to us, and got the Fig pizza, with fig, mozzarella, gorgonzola cheese, and prosciutto di parma, making it sweet and salty all in one bite. I would recommend any of the pizzas, as they have lots of different kinds of cheeses, vegetables, and meats as toppings and are all served on a fresh, crispy crust. We were already stuffed, but couldn't pass up dessert, and ordered homemade s'mores. The s'mores were perfectly cooked in the brick oven to melt the chocolate and marshmallow all over a homemade graham cracker. 

I would definitely encourage people to try out Toby's for a casual meal out. They use some fancy ingredients and everything is homemade, which makes it expensive for pizza and beer, but well worth it. Please let me know if you are going, so I can meet you there, since it's about five blocks from my apartment. 

*Toby's Public House - 686 6th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

I was on vacation for a week and while I had delicious food throughout our tour of the South, I was excited to try some new recipes after coming back from vacation. Unfortunately, I tried a few recipes that were underwhelming and not fit for posting to the blog! I will continue on my mission to find new and easy recipes for you all, but in the meantime I was inspired by the sudden change of weather (hello fall!) to post my chicken noodle soup recipe.

For years, I avoided making soup of any kind for fear that it would take hours of me standing over a hot stove. Well, I was wrong. One day I was in the mood for chicken noodle soup - preferably not a canned version full of sodium - and I stumbled across a ridiculously simple recipe online. I played with the proportions of broth vs. meat/veggies, and tested out different herbs and spices, and made a soup that I think puts Campbell's to shame!

Granted, I didn't make my own broth (which I'm sure would have made the process longer), but I used a low sodium version so it was healthier than the canned soups, and felt like the time saved was totally worth it. I had a flavorful, comforting soup made in about half an hour - perfect for a chilly day. 

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth*

1 onion, diced

1 cup carrots, sliced

1 cup celery, sliced (approx. 2 stalks)

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp parsley

¼ tsp ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 ½ cups egg noodles

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, combine chicken broth, onion, carrots, celery, Italian seasoning, parsley, pepper, and bay leaf.

2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Stir in noodles, return to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for approximately 10 minutes (until the noodles and vegetables are tender).

4. Remove the bay leaf, then stir in chicken and heat through.

*I prefer my chicken noodle soup heavier on the noodles than the broth, but feel free to add an additional 2 cups of broth if you would like a broth-ier soup!

Makes approximately 4 servings.

Nom Wah Tea Parlor

I remember going to Nom Wah Tea Parlor as a kid. My family would go there in the afternoon as part of an adventure in the big city. They have redone the restaurant since then and one of their family members became the owner of the restaurant, but it still has the same charm. I decided to venture back there for a dinner out with Ryan to relive some childhood memories.

Nom Wah Tea Parlor has been around since 1920 and you can tell that once you walk in. It is also the first dim sum restaurant in New York City. When we used to go they would have the carts that you pick what you would like off of. Today we are ordering off the menu, which makes it slightly harder to decide. You can’t see everything before you order it, which I kind of like. The menu has lots of larger dishes, but I would stick with the dim sum. We had many different kinds of dumplings: meat, shrimp, and vegetable. We both enjoyed the sticky rice with Chinese sausage, which is one of my favorites. We also tried the shrimp shu mai and the shrimp rice roll. It was an abundance of food, yet still being light and delicious. They also have beer, wine and tea to complement the food.

The prices are definitely right. Most dim sum dishes range from $2-6. The two of us ate a lot of food for about $30. The service is quick and appropriate. You can have a full meal in under an hour, which sometimes is a major plus. I would recommend Nom Wah Tea Parlor for some cheap, tasty food. Drop by when you are in Chinatown and have some free time.

*Nom Wah Tea Parlor – 13 Doyers Street, New York, NY