Chicken

Grilled Chicken Wings

3 pounds chicken wings, single joint
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
6 Tablespoons olive oil
8 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp onion powder (not onion salt)
1 tsp ground black pepper

1.  Dry wings. Place in gallon-sized Ziplock bag.
2.  Combine the next 5 ingredients, pour over wings.
3.  Seal the bag.  “Massage” the wings so that the marinade covers everything.
4.  Place in refrigerator overnight.
5.  Preheat grill on high for 5 minutes.  Clean the grate. Rub the clean grate with a paper towel dipped in canola oil to help prevent the wings from sticking.
6.  Grill wings directly on the grate, in a single layer, over medium heat.  Have an aluminum pan to one side, not over heat, that can be used as a “rescue zone” when the grill flares up. It WILL flare up.

(Much of the butter/oil mixture will drip off.  Based on a pre-weight/post-weight, I calculate that approximately half of the butter/oil mix is lost to the cooking process.  The nutritional data reflects that calculation.)

7.  While the wings grill, you can sprinkle them with the spice blend of your choice. I am using a mild Penzey salt-free blend, 33rd and Galena. You could instead use a hot pepper powder (cayenne, chipotle or habanero), or a milder spice (paprika or ancho peppers). You can also use a salt-based spice blend (Old Bay Seasoning or Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning, I like both of these).  Try new flavors and find what you like.
8.  Serve warm or cold. No dressing or dip is needed with my version, but they would taste great with a honey-mustard salad dressing as a dip.

Nutritional data (approximate, as noted above), per piece:
Calories:   112
Fat:            9.4g
Sat fat:       2.7g
Chol:          36mg
Sodium:      98mg
Carbs:        0.3g
Fiber:         0.0g
Protein:      7.6g

Chicken in Garlic-Vinegar Sauce

Chicken and Garlic-Vinegar Sauce
Makes 6 servings  (Served as above with steamed broccoli and 1/2 cup whole wheat couscous.  The nutritional values below are for the chicken only, not the side dishes.)
Note:  I used 8 garlic cloves in this recipe.  The next time I will double it.  The garlic was very subdued by the vinegar and sour cream.  I wanted it to be more assertive.  I might also try malt vinegar instead of red wine vinegar, and use 8 ounces of beer instead of chicken broth, to reduce the sodium load, and bring out a different flavor.  As always, recipes are meant to be creative.
6 chicken breast 5 ounces each (approximately)
3 teaspoon Olive oil, divided
1 cup onion, diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
2 tsp dried thyme
¼ cup reduced fat sour cream
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tsp all-purpose flour
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons chives
1.      Dry chicken.  Season with pepper (and salt, if desired)
2.      Heat heavy Dutch oven (or similar pan) over medium heat, spray with cooking spray and add 1 tsp olive oil.  Add the chicken, turning as needed until browned.  5-7 minutes.  If needed, cook chicken in multiple batches, if all will not fit at the same time.
3.      Remove chicken, add 1 tsp olive oil.  Add onions and garlic, stir over medium-high heat until the onion is lightly brown.
4.      Add vinegar, bring to a boil
5.      Return chicken to pot, add broth and thyme.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let cook until chicken is very tender, about 50 minutes.
6.      While cooking, mix sour cream, tomato paste and flour until smooth.
7.      Seed and dice tomatoes, add chives and the remaining olive in a bowl and reserve for garnish.
8.      When the chicken is finished, remove from the stock and place on a plate.  Stir in sour cream mixture until smooth, bring to a simmer and let cook for 1 minute.
9.      Return chicken to sauce, and gently stir to coat.
10.  Serve garnished with diced tomatoes.
Cal:           272
Fat:           3.5g 
Sat Fat:     1.0g 
Chol:       110mg
Sodium:  228mg 
Carb:         7.5g 
Fiber         1.4g 
Protein:   41.9g 

Mushroom-Herb Chicken and Potatoes Alfredo w/ Gruyere

Mushroom-Herb Chicken
4 boneless-skinless chicken breasts, 5 ounce each (approx.)
8 ounces brown (crimini) mushrooms, sliced
½ cup onion, sliced
¼ cup white wine
Pepper
Herb blend (your preference)
Cooking spray
Place chicken breasts in a heavy duty ziplock storage bag, and pound flat (to ½ inch). Season with pepper and herb blend (both sides.)
In a large non-stick sauté pan, spray with cooking spray, heat over medium-high heat and place chicken in pan.  Cook for 5-6 minutes per side.  They should be nicely brown. Remove from pan, set aside.  Spray with cooking spray again, add onions. Saute for 1 minute, add mushrooms.  Saute another 2 minutes, add wine and return the chicken to the pan. Cover, and cook over medium for another 3 minutes.  Remove, serve topped with mushrooms.
Serves 4
Nutritional data:
Calories:          187
Fat:                  0.1g
Sat fat:                0g
Cholesterol:     80mg
Sodium:           94mg
Carbs:              4.6g
Fiber:               0.6g
Protein:          31.4g
Potatoes Alfredo with Gruyere
4 potatoes (1 pound) I like using Yukon Gold potatoes
½ cup prepared alfredo sauce
¼ cup milk (I used 2%)
¾ ounce gruyere cheese, shredded
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350F
Wash potatoes.  Slice thinly (with skins is my preference.) Place in bowl. Top with alfredo sauce and milk.  Stir together.
Spray small baking dish (1.5 quart round worked for me, as would an 8×8 baking pan) with non-stick spray. Layer potatoes.  Top with shredded gruyere.
Serves 4
Nutritional data:
Calories:          205
Fat:                  5.6g
Sat fat:             3.3g
Cholesterol:      26mg
Sodium:          233mg
Carbs:            33.5g
Fiber:               2.2g
Protein:            6.8g