Recipe: Curried Chicken with Peaches

This recipe is one of my family's favorites!  It has wonderful flavor and the chicken is always nice and tender.

Recipe: Curried Chicken with Peaches

Makes 4 servings

Preparation Time:  5 minutes

Ingredients:

· 4 Chicken Breasts

· 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper

· 1 can (29 ounces) sliced peaches

· ½ cup Chicken Broth

· 2 tablespoons butter, melted

· 1 tablespoon dried minced onion

· 2 teaspoons indian curry paste

· 2 cloves of garlic, minced

· ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

· 3 tablespoons cornstarch

· 3 tablespoons cold water

· ¼ cup raisins

Directions:

Place Chicken in slow cooker, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Drain the peaches reserving ½ cup juice, set peaches aside

In a small bowl, combine the broth, butter, onion, curry, garlic, ginger, and reserved juice; pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours or until chicken juices run clear.

Remove chicken and keep warm.  In a small bowl combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into cooking juices.  Add raisins.  Cover and cook on high for 10-15 minutes.  Stir in peaches; heat through.  Serve over chicken.

Weekly Check In September 26

I've had better weeks and I've had worse weeks.  This week had a major routine breakdown with the temporary introduction of my sister's dog into the household mix.  I did a lot more walking and an extra night of dancing but this came at the expense of my regular exercise routine.  There was also a short little heat wave which brought the temptation of ice cream back and the sugar laden birthday cake.  All considered this isn't going to be a big set-back but it was a break in getting going on healthy eating and exercise.


On the plus side, we've got a new cookbook full of curries that are very diet friendly and have declared Friday night to be curry night!  Expect to see some nice curry recipes in the coming weeks.


Statistics:

Last Weigh-in: 217.0
Current Weight: 218.4


Weight Gain/Loss: +1.4 

Starting Weight: 207.4
Highest Point: 222.0

Lowest Point: 206.4

Recipe: Chicken Cacciatore

Recipe: Chicken Cacciatore

Makes 6 servings
Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
· 6 boneless chicken breast pieces
· 1 14-1/2 oz. can diced stewed tomatoes with onion and bell pepper (Del monte brand)
· 1 small can tomato sauce
· 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
· 8 oz. fresh mushrooms thinly sliced
· 1/2 each yellow, red, and green bell peppers diced
· 1/4 cup water
· 1/4 cup white wine, optional
· 2 tbsp minced garlic
· 1 tbsp Italian blend herbs
· salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix everything together in crockpot. Cook 3-4 hours on high or 7-9 hours on low

Serve with cooked whole wheat linguini or other whole wheat pasta. (Optional)

Weekly Check In September 19

So, these check ins are tending to be more monthly than weekly but I'm working on that.  I'm also still working on getting into a daily exercise habit.  I've gotten into the daily habit of light strength training (crunches, free weights, etc.) before bed just fine but I'm struggling a bit with carving out time and motivation for getting up in the morning and doing cardio.  I feel better when I get that morning workout in but it's still hard to get going.

I'm doing pretty well at eating healthy but I haven't quite pared away all of the carbs for Phase One of the South Beach Diet yet.  The hardest part right now is the mid-afternoon snack.  I need that small influx of calories but I'm having trouble resisting the muffins and pastries at the neighborhood coffee shop/bakery.

Even though I'm a little up from the last official weigh in, I'm actually down a few pounds.  Camping is not a diet friendly event; lots of food of varying degrees of unhealthiness and lots of lounging.  Very relaxing but not great for the diet.  I'm feeling generally positive and looking forward to continue bringing my weight down. 

Statistics:

Last Weigh-in: 215.8
Current Weight: 217.0

Starting Weight: 207.4
Highest Point: 222.0

Lowest Point: 206.4

Recipe: Pork and Apple Curry

I really love curries with fruit and this is one of my favorite recipes!

Recipe: Pork and Apple Curry

Makes 4 servings
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

· 2 pounds boneless pork loin roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
· 1 medium tart apple, peeled and chopped
· 1 small onion, chopped
· 1/2 cup orange juice
· 1 tablespoon curry powder
· 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
· 1 garlic clove, minced
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
· 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 2 tablespoons cornstarch
· 2 tablespoons cold water
· Hot cooked rice (Optional)
· 1/4 cup raisins

Directions:

In a 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the first 10 ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until meat is tender. Increase heat to high. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until thickened, stirring once.

Serve over rice if desired. Sprinkle with raisins.

Recipe: Tomato Zucchini Casserole

This is a family favorite vegetarian dish.  The leftovers also work nicely for a side dish with a later meal!

Recipe: Tomato Zucchini Casserole

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb Zucchini
• 1 lb Tomatoes
• 1 cup Herb Stuffing Cubes
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, melted
• Sugar
• 1/4 lb Mozzarella Cheese
• 4 Slices Provolone Cheese
• 1 Heaping Tablespoon Chopped Basil
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

Slice unpeeled zucchini very thin, lay out in a single layer, and sprinkle with salt.  Leave for about 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

Skin tomatoes and slice thin.  Pour melted butter over bread cubes.  Butter a soufflé dish and layer 1/2 zucchini slices on bottom. Season lightly with salt and pepper.  Lay 1/2 tomatoes over zucchini.  Scatter 1/2 the basil over the tomatoes and sprinkle with sugar.  Lay provolone slices over tomatoes.  Cover with 3/4 of bread cubes and 1/2 the mozzarella cheese.  Repeat the layers, leaving out the mozzarella cheese, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cover and bake for 40 minutes.  Cover with the rest of the mozzarella and bake covered for another 20 minutes.  Let sit for a few minutes before serving.