Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken with Creamy Parmesan Orzo

• We made the chicken for dinner with some orzo as a side dish- our first attempt at orzo! The recipe comes from Cooking Light, July 2013. There was actually more than enough BBQ sauce- we could probably even have done half as much. We followed the recipe for the chicken, but we did use 6 chicken drumsticks instead of the legs or thighs. We grilled them on the George Foreman grill. They were pretty darn spicy and very delicious. :) 

The orzo was good, too, but a little more calorie rich than we would have liked. :) We skipped the basil and pine nuts, but it was still very tasty and a fun alternative to potatoes or rice. It seemed like there was too much liquid and it took almost twice as long as it said to cook. However, the orzo was organic from Natural Foods and I noticed it's much larger than the stuff from the store, so maybe that's part of the reason why. 

• Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil 
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 1/2 cup lower-sodium ketchup
• 2 tablespoons water 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 bone-in chicken leg-thigh quarters, skinned
• Cooking spray

Chicken Preparation

1. 1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. 2. Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add shallots; sauté 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in ketchup, next 5 ingredients (through chile powder), and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to low, and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. 3. Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, garlic powder, cumin, and black pepper; sprinkle over chicken. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 15 minutes on each side or until done. Baste chicken generously with sauce; turn over, and grill 1 minute. Baste again; turn over, and grill 1 minute. Serve with remaining sauce. 4 servings.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 256
• Fat: 9.8g
• Saturated fat: 2.3g
• Monounsaturated fat: 4.5g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 1.7g
• Protein: 25.9g
• Carbohydrate: 16.3g
• Fiber: 0.6g
• Cholesterol: 139mg
• Iron: 1.5mg
• Sodium: 366mg
• Calcium: 25mg

Creamy Parmesan Orzo

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup orzo pasta
1 1/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, fresh is better
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted
Directions:

1) Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add orzo and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
2) Stir in broth and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed, and orzo is done, about 15 minutes.
3) Remove from heat; stir in cheese, basil, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Facts for Creamy Parmesan Orzo

Serving Size: 1 (205 g)
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Calories 239.8 

Calories from Fat 69 28%

Total Fat 7.6 g 11% 

Saturated Fat 3.3 g 16%

Cholesterol 13.1 mg 4%

Sodium 293.6 mg 12%

Total Carbohydrate 33.0 g 11% 

Dietary Fiber 1.5 g 6%

Sugars 1.3 g 5%

Protein 9.8 g 19%

Shrimp Po' Boys with Baked Pickles and Garlicky Sauteed Kale

We made this for dinner tonight and it was yummy- even the kale! We decided to use frozen breaded shrimp as a time saver. When we made the sauce we used whole milk instead of buttermilk and dijon mustard instead of whole grain. We skipped the lettuce.

For the pickles, we used Egg Beaters, and Dave accidentally mixed the flour in with the Panko, but they still worked.

• 

• Shrimp Po' Boy Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk, divided
• 1 tablespoon canola mayonnaise 
• 1 tablespoon water 
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 16 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 3/4 pound) 
• 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• Cooking spray
• 1 (12-ounce) French bread baguette, cut crosswise into 4 pieces
• 2 cups thinly sliced green leaf lettuce
• 8 (1/4-inch-thick) tomato slices 

Shrimp Po' Boy Preparation

1. 1. Place a baking sheet in oven. Preheat oven to 450° (leave pan in oven).
2. 2. Combine 1 tablespoon buttermilk, mayonnaise, and next 4 ingredients (through pepper), stirring with a whisk. Set aside.
3. 3. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon buttermilk and shrimp in a bowl; toss to coat. Sprinkle with cornmeal; toss to coat. Carefully remove preheated pan from oven. Arrange shrimp in a single layer on pan. Lightly coat shrimp with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes or until done.
4. 4. Cut bread pieces through the top, cutting to, but not through, the bottom. Hollow out bread, leaving a 1/2-inch-thick shell. Combine 2 tablespoons mayonnaise mixture and lettuce; toss to coat. Divide lettuce mixture, tomatoes, shrimp, and remaining mayonnaise mixture among bread pieces.

6. Baked Pickles Ingredients
7. 1/2 cup panko
8. 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
9. 2 egg whites, lightly beaten 
10. 32 low-sodium kosher dill pickle chips

Baked Pickles Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add panko; cook 2 minutes or until golden, shaking pan frequently. Place panko in a shallow dish. Place flour in another shallow dish; place egg whites in another shallow dish. Pat dill pickle chips dry with paper towels. Dredge pickles in flour; dip in egg whites, and dredge in panko. Arrange pickles in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes on each side or until crisp.

12. Garlicky Sauteed Kale Ingredients
13. • 1 tablespoon sliced garlic
    • 2 teaspoons olive oil 
    • 8 packed cups Lacinato kale
    • 1/4 cup unsalted chicken stock
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

    Kale Preparation

    1. Combine garlic and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; cook 2 minutes or just until garlic begins to brown. Add kale; sauté 2 minutes, tossing frequently. Stir in chicken stock, salt, and pepper; cover and cook 3 minutes on medium heat or just until kale wilts.

Chile-Garlic Cabbage

We made this the other night from the January 2014 edition of Cooking Light. Our first attempt at cooked cabbage, and it was pretty darn good! We skipped the cilantro, substituted sriracha sauce for the sambal oelek and added some rotisserie chicken. Excited to try another cabbage recipe from the same recipe group.

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 4 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sambal oelek
• 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
• 8 cups sliced green cabbage
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Preparation

1. 1. Combine lime juice, brown sugar, fish sauce, and sambal oelek in a small bowl. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; swirl. Add cabbage to pan; cook 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in brown sugar mixture; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro.