The start of 2014 means, like it does every year, that I'm going to eat healthier. I am currently here blogging as the snow starts to pick up, as Dan shovels outside (I asked if he wanted some help and he said no), and as my cousin muds our laundry room in the basement. Also, he brought his dog, who is not fixed, and neither is our Lana. That was a disaster, so now I have a crying puppy in the garage and a crying puppy in the house, and all they want is to see each other. Lana has been crying and screeching for a solid 20 minutes now...
Luckily, I was able to cook dinner before the arrival of Brody (the other dog), so I had a little quiet time in the kitchen. Well, other than when Lana tried to steal a raw chicken breast from me...
I just keep telling myself, "Puppies are cute. This is normal. I love Lana.". Over, and over, and over.
Last month, or maybe even back in November, I grabbed an issue of Better Homes & Gardens special edition on low-carb cooking. I'm glad I did, because I tabbed over half the recipes in the magazine, which is rare. Knowing we were getting snow I chose one slow cooker recipe for tomorrow (not from the magazine) and this chicken recipe for tonight. It is an incredibly easy recipe that I made even easier by buying thin-sliced chicken breast, skipping the step of flattening them out, and microwave steamer green beans, that I quickly added to the lemon and capers. I was in and out of the kitchen in 20 minutes. Okay, maybe 25 since I did have to spend some time fighting off Lana as she tried to sneak some chicken.
Lemony Chicken and Green Beans
slightly adapted from BH&G Low-Carb Cooking
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin (I used 8 thin-sliced breasts so we had some extra)
1/4 cup Dijon mustard (didn't use all of it, it's just to brush on the chicken)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs (I used plain)
olive oil
8 oz. green beans
2 lemons, 1 sliced and 1 juiced
1 tbsp. capers, rinsed and drained
1. Heat oven to warm to keep chicken warm after it cooks.
2. Trim chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Brush each chicken breast with mustard on each side and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
3. In a large skillet on medium heat, heat a swirl of oil. Add chicken in two batch of four, and cook on each side for 3 minutes or until cooked through. Move to the oven to keep warm.
4. Add another swirl of oil to the pan. Add the sliced lemons, lemon juice and capers. Add the green beans and cook for one minute, stirring to coat the beans in the lemon.
5. Serve!
The beans were SUPER lemony. I would cut back on this with maybe half the lemon juice and some other seasoning. My first bite made my cheeks sting and my mouth pucker. Not exactly what I want when eating dinner. The chicken was fantastic! I really thought since I used plain bread crumbs that I would think they are too plain, but they weren't. The hint of mustard and the salt and pepper gave it just enough flavoring, keeping them healthy. And, since they were thin-sliced, I didn't feel super guilty for having two pieces!
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| Lana crying at the door to see Brody |
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