Simply Delicious

We're back at April's house this week with some simple, satisfying dishes fit for grownups and kids.  This meal came together, start to finish, in just over 30 minutes.  We made a few changes to the chicken sandwiches to cut down on fat and calories, and we never did find any arugula, so there was no salad on them either... The sandwiches were a hit with the kids, and the potatoes were a hit with April! :) 

Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwiches

from Food Network Magazine, December 2010

4 chicken cutlets, 4 ounces each

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

4 slices Black Forest ham

8 slices smoked mozzarella

1 baguette

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 bunch watercress or arugula, tough stems removed

Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil and evenly space the chicken cutlets in the center. Brush the chicken with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil, rotating the baking sheet as needed so the chicken cooks evenly, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the chicken and continue to broil until cooked through, 2 to 3 more minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and top each piece of chicken with 1 slice ham and 2 slices mozzarella. Broil until the cheese melts, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and drizzle with olive oil.

Meanwhile, cut the baguette crosswise into 4 equal pieces, then split open. Spread the bottom halves with butter and the top halves with mustard. Toss the watercress with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Sandwich the chicken and watercress between the baguette halves.

Serves 4 with a PointsPlus Value of 10 each.

Suz: The arugula was missed, and would have been nice with a splash of lemon juice on it.  I don't really like mustard, but I thought it was yum on this sandwich!
April: The kids loved the sandwiches! They gobbled them up. Me.. I was missing the arugula. It needed some salad on that sandwich! The rest of the taste was just right and I loved the Dijon on there!



Skillet Roasted Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary
from WeightWatchers PointsPlus Cookbook

1 Tbsp regular butter
1 pound baby potatoes, scrubbed and halved
2 Tbsp water
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp rosemary, thyme or sage, chopped
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Melt butter in large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and 1 tablespoon of the water and stir to coat. Reduce heat to low and cook covered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of water and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and well browned, about 15 minutes longer.

Sprinkle potatoes with garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes longer.

Makes 4 servings, with a PointsPlus value of 3 each.

Suz: I used the potatoes Mom brought me from Trader Joe's this weekend - they were perfect!  This dish would be great anytime, but I think it will be wonderful in the summer when you don't want to heat up the oven, but want some tasty roasted potatoes!  I forgot the rosemary at home, so we substituted dried rosemary.  I added the salt/pepper/rosemary after the first 15 minutes to make sure that the flavor got into the potatoes.  Loved them, will definitely make them again!!

April: They were quite tasty... I know Suz is totally cracking up that she has the ability to post such a flattering picture of me on the blog [Suz: I am!]. The flavoring was wonderful.. the texture perfect. The little potatoes... yummo. If you have a Trader Joe's... you should try them.


Oven Roasted Green Beans
Suzanne's recipe

1 bag frozen whole green beans
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Toss everthing together.  Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through.  Makes 4 servings, with a PointsPlus value of 1 each.

Suz: Green beans are my favorite vegetable.  Loved these, next time may shoot the temp up 25-50 degrees for better roasting - they weren't over done, but I'd like a little more brown-ness.  I also must admit that I originally doused them with minced ginger instead of garlic...had to rinse them off a little before I added the garlic, so that could have been the added "interesting" flavor! :)

April: Both of my kids really enjoyed the green beans. I really thought they were the perfect crispy texture and the spices were interesting and you just had to try one more to try to figure it all out!