Chicken Pizza!

I am a sucker for baked chicken dishes. It's a great way to get your boneless, skinless breasts nice and moist with little or no fat. I've experimented with the stuffed, smothered, and saucy, but this is one of my favorites. Also, it's so easy that you will Freak Out. Big domestic nerd win.

This recipe was inspired by the South Beach Pizza from What Geeks Eat. While I'm not a strict diet person, there are a lot of great things about the South Beach diet, and I utilize a lot of SB-recommended recipes to keep us on the low-carb track.



Chicken Pizza
I'm not using measurements since this is so easy, you don't need to measure anything. I promise.

Boneless, skinless Chicken breasts (if you can find the thin-cut ones, great, otherwise slice and pound them thin)
tomato sauce
Oregano
Basil
Garlic powder
crushed red pepper (optional)
olive oil
turkey Italian sausage, casings removed
green pepper
onion
2% mozzarella cheese shredded

Heat oven to 350. In a non-stick skillet with a little bit of olive oil, cook the Italian sausage, crumbling with a spatula as you go. Thinly slice the green pepper and onion. Remove sausage from pan when fully cooked. In a small bowl, mix plain tomato sauce with a healthy sprinkle of basil, oregano, garlic powder and crushed red pepper. (Alternately, you can use pre-made "pizza sauce" but this gives you more control over the flavor.)




Spread the chicken breasts over the bottom of a pizza pan or other baking sheet with sides. Spoon a layer of pizza sauce over the chicken. Arrange the sliced peppers, onions, and crumbled sausage over the sauce. Top with a generous layer of mozzarella cheese. Bake for about 25 minutes until browned and bubbly. Enjoy!

Just grill it

A big part of going low-carb for me was adding more veggies to our diet. I replaced a lot of starchy side dishes with fresh vegetables. Along the way, I learned that there are some really easy ways to cook delicious vegetables. Now, I grew up eating lots of frozen, microwave-nuked vegs, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I only learned to use a steamer last year. But I'll tell ya what - it's so easy. Cooking seasonal vegs in different preparations is an easy way to keep your dinners fresh and your grocery bills low.



One of my favorite ways to cook veggies is on my grill pan. Of course, you can use a "real" grill, but we apartment dwellers don't have that luxury. Most veggies do fine with a quick toss in some oil, salt and pepper. Zucchini is fabulous tossed with some Italian dressing first. But the best part is seeing your work - those lovely little grill lines!

Next time you're thinking about warming up some canned corn or frozen green beans, think twice and remember that it's just as quick and easy to eat fresh veggies - and so much more delicious!

the BEST (low carb) side dish EVER

This dish is a revelation for low-carbers. It's so creamy and satisfying and Good for you! I've always had a thing for cauliflower, but this takes the veggie to a new level. Substitute this for carby side dishes like mashed potatoes and rice. You can even bake it with cheese on top if you want more richness. You can puree as much or as little as you like, but I prefer to really food-process the heck out of it.

So without further ado...



Cauliflower Puree

1 head of cauliflower, chopped into small florets
1 tablespoon of butter
1/4 cup low fat sour cream
1 teaspoon of parmesan cheese (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Steam the chopped cauliflower for 15 minutes on the stovetop. Add steamed cauliflower to food processor with butter and sour cream. Depending on the size of your food processor, you may want to do this in batches. Pulse until thick and creamy. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy!


*photo copyright Sassyradish

kitteh approved.

someone likes the new seat cushions.