Chef Lisa

With the weather getting hot here (high of 91 F today), I’m searching for dishes that don’t involve a lot of cooking, or can be cooked on the grill. This dish certainly fit the bill. It’s based on the Cajun Chicken Salad recipe from 500 Low Carb Recipes by Dana Carpender. It’s ideal, I think, for a picnic or other summer meal, as it’s got an oil and vinegar dressing, rather than mayo, so you don’t have to be quite as concerned abuot it sitting out.

The recipe as I have it below makes the perfect amount for a single meal for my family – two adults and two monkeys children. It tastes great with the chicken fresh off the grill, but we suspect it will be even better if made in the morning and then allowed to chill in the fridge until supper.

Summer Chicken Salad

 
Serves 2 adults and 2 kids

3 chicken breast halves
your favorite grill seasoning
1 green bell pepper, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1/2 a small red onion, sliced thin
2 tbsp dijon mustard
4 tbsp wine vinegar (I used half white wine, half red wine)
2 heaping tsp minced garlic
2 tsp dried tarragon
1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Season the chicken breast halves with your favorite grill seasoning and grill, broil or saute the chicken until cooked through.

Put the bell peppers and onion in a large bowl.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the mustard, vinegar, garlic and tarragon. Add the oil, whisking so that everything combines.

Slice the chicken into 1/4″ strips and add to the bell peppers and onion. Pour the dressing over everything and mix well.

I always cook breakfast for the family on Sunday mornings. The kids love scrambled eggs, and scrambled eggs and sausages gets old after a while. I’m always looking out for something different, and this fits the bill. I got this out of 500 Low-Carb Recipes: 500 Recipes from Snacks to Dessert, That the Whole Family Will Love by Dana Carpender.

Country Scramble

non-stick cooking spray
1/2 cup cooked ham — diced
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
4 tablespoons diced onion
6 each eggs — beaten
salt & pepper — to taste

Spray a non-stick skillet with the non-stick cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add ham, green pepper and onion and saute until onion is softened.

Pour in eggs and scramble until eggs are set. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 151 Calories; 9g Fat (56.9% calories from fat); 13g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 328mg Cholesterol; 328mg Sodium.

Exchanges: 1 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat.

Okay, I know this isn’t a diabetes-friendly recipe, but it looked so good I had to try it. It’s a very moist, very rich and delicious snack bread. We’ve found it tastes best when it’s room temperature (when the peanut butter taste is most prominent), but it’s good hot and cold too.

This recipe is from Recipe Girl blog.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

 
Makes two loaves, 16 slices each.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups mashed banana
1 cup milk, 1% lowfat
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9×5-inch loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

In another bowl, combined mashed bananas, milk, peanut butter, vanilla and egg. Add to flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into loaf pans, dividing equally. Bake 40 to 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 136 Calories; 5g Fat (32.4% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 8mg Cholesterol; 136mg Sodium.

Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

On Wednesday, June 10, 2009, I was diagnosed with diabetes. That means, of course, that my whole concept of eating and cooking has to change. Everything I post here from now on will reflect that. I hope that my efforts will help those in the same situation I am.

For some unknown reason (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it), I decided on June 6th it was time to go through my fridge freezer and see what was in there. Here’s the final list, after throwing out a bunch of stuff that had either expired or I couldn’t identify:

Asparagus, 1 lb, 1 pkg
*bbq spicy pulled pork, 1 pkg, 06/03/09
*black beans, 2 cups, 2 pkgs
blueberries, 1 lb pkg
bread yeast
broccoli, 1 lb pkg
butter (unsalted), 5 lbs,
carrots, ½ pkg
Cauliflower & cheese, 1 pkg
celery (for soup)
chicken breast, 1 breast
*chicken broth, 2 cups, 1 pkg, no date
*chicken broth, 2 cups, 2 pkg, 05/07/09
chicken nuggets, 1 serving
chicken tenders, less than 1 lb
corn, 2 partial pkgs
frozen yogurt tubes
fruit chiller
garlic toast with cheese, 4 or 5 slices
ground chuck, 1 lb, 2 pkgs
ground chuck, 1.5 lbs, 1 pkg
hot dogs, 1 lb, 3 pkgs
*jerk pork, 1 pkg, 04/27/09
*kidney beans, 2 cups, 2 pkgs
oat bran
peaches, 1 lb pkg
peas, 1 lb pkg
pepper & onion mix, 1 open pkg
Philly Gourmet, 1 pkg
phyllo dough, 1 full roll, 1 partial roll
*salsa shredded beef, 1 pkg, 04/05/09
soft pretzel, 1 pretzel
soft pretzel bits, most of a bag
teriyaki veggies, 1 pkg
tilapia fillet, 1 fillet
walnuts, 2 x 16 oz. pkg

Anything in the list that’s marked with an * is something I cooked (planned overs) or I cooked in bulk (the beans – I cook 1 lb packages of dried beans, then freeze them when they’re at the “ready to be thrown into a dish” stage). Any dates listed are the dates I put the thing in the freezer.

Now that I’ve done this list, my fridge freezer is now organized, and I have a better idea of what’s in there, and what I need to use and when. Good thing, as I’m likely to be making up the grocery list tonight and doing the shopping tomorrow. Expect to see things made with phyllo dough and the beans, as those have been in there the longest and need to be used soon.