Baked Lemon Tarragon Chicken

When dinner has to be quick-and-easy, I don’t usually think of baked chicken. But this recipe fits the bill.  You can make it in less than an hour and most of that time the chicken bakes unattended. The dish requires few ingredients and it is delicious cold if there are leftovers. 

If those attributes aren’t enough, baked lemon tarragon chicken is a budget meal too. I made enough for 4 people for about $8, including the price of the seasonings. With rice and a salad, this meal costs less per serving than a Chipotle chicken burrito, a McDonald’s McChicken meal, or a grilled chicken sandwich at Potbelly Sandwich Shop. And it tastes a heck of a lot better too!

As you are making this recipe, remember the chicken basics, especially rules #1-7 and #10.  It’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to handling poultry.

Lemon Tarragon Chicken

Click to read more ...

Summer Rolls

I came to summer rolls late in life.  When I was a kid, growing up in a New York suburb (during the Mad Men era of chow mein), the only Asian appetizer rolls I knew were so-called Chinese egg rolls.  They were always fried or baked, filled mostly with cabbage, and definitely boring.  I had no idea that infinitely better-tasting and healthier Asian appetizer rolls existed.

Now that I’ve discovered them, I’ve got the zeal of a convert, spreading the word that summer rolls are quick, easy, and inexpensive.  Perhaps their most attractive feature is that summer rolls can be whatever you want or need them to be.  A salad you can hold?  A repository for leftovers that cry out to be used?  A refreshing appetizer for a stir-fry meal?  An elegant and quick contribution to a pot-luck?  A vegetarian dish that easily accommodates adding meat or seafood? The possibilities are endless, and (for those who need or want to avoid gluten), they are gluten-free too.  

This is a guide to making summer rolls, rather than a recipe with specific measurements.  The only required ingredient is the rice wrapper.  I bought a package of more than 30 wrappers at an Asian grocery for $1.75.  In Washington, D.C., the price for 2 summer rolls at local Asian restaurants hovers around $4.50 - 5.50.  Check the menu of a restaurant near you that serves summer (sometimes called spring) rolls, and calculate how much money you’ll save by making these at home.

5 Tips for Making Great Summer Rolls

Click to read more ...

Shrimp 101 and a Taste Test

Phil, of Stone Soup fame, has been looking for healthy and quick alternatives to chicken.  He asked me to show him how to cook with shrimp, so we did a quick lesson yesterday.  Here are the highlights:

Shrimp are Nutritious 

With the caveat that shrimp are relatively high in cholesterol, they are also:

• High in Omega-3 fatty acids (which have been found to have protective effects against heart disease, stroke and diabetes.)
• High in protein – 18 grams in only 3 ounces of shrimp.
• Low in fat and sodium with no carbohydrates (if cooked in water with no fat.)

How are shrimp sold?

Click to read more ...