Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Dinner Downer

I'm disappointed to say my Artichoke Chicken dinner last night was less than I hoped. I really love artichokes and had high hopes for this one. Especially since I had to go to two different stores to find frozen pearl onions and frozen artichoke hearts. I never did find the frozen artichokes, so used canned ones instead.
One thing I just hate, is pale looking meat. In spite of browning the chicken first, it looked nasty pale. So unappetizing. That was the first downer. Secondly, after simmering the chicken in the sauce for the required 20 minutes, the sauce was very thin. Again, unappetizing. It looked like blah chicken breasts swimming in chicken broth. I ended up simmering the sauce longer to try to reduce it and gain more flavor but still got minimal results. Maybe I just did something wrong, but I didn't like it at all. I'm going to share the recipe here for you in case someone wants to try it and let me know what I did wrong!

Artichoke Chicken
The South Beach Diet Cookbook
Ingredients
4 TBS extra virgin olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
1 bag (16 oz) frozen small while onions
1 can chicken broth
1 TBS balsamic vinegar
Salt
Ground black pepper
1 package (10 oz) frozen artichoke hearts
Directions
Heat two TBS of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes, turning once, or until browned on both sides. Carefully remove the chicken to a large bowl.
Heat the remaining 2 TBS oil in the skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Return the chicken to the pan and add the chicken broth and vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the artichoke hearts and cook for 10 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender and a thermometer inserted in the thickest portion of a chicken breast registers 170 degrees and the juices run clear.

Today it's snowing again. Nick and Alex are in school, but I anticipate a possible early dismissal. Snow is supposed to continue through tomorrow with times of sleet, rain and nastiness. Hopefully, there is school tomorrow. Alex has only missed 3 days and we're not in jeopardy of make up days yet, but if we miss more we will definitely lose some spring break.
The vet just called and cancelled the dogs' appointments for the third Tuesday in a row. They only see pets on Tuesdays and so far, it's snowed heavily the last three weeks. Very frustrating! It looks like I'll have to take Max to a civilian vet for his ear. They couldn't re-schedule for three weeks and his infection won't wait that long. I'm afraid we've waited too long already. I keep cleaning it and putting drops in  but it's not clearing up.
In spite of our diet, I'm thinking of baking some goodies for Alex. I will have to hide them for multiple reasons. Nick and I don't need goodies right now and Alex has no off button. If I put out a few cookies a day, he's OK. If I put the whole plate out, he'll eat the whole plate. I realize he's a growing boy, but nobody needs that much sugar.
Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope it's warm and safe where you are.

2 comments:

Mindee@ourfrontdoor said...

Alex and I have the same cookie problem. Too bad I'm not a growing child!

Muchelle said...

sorry about your chicken. i'm like you i need some color to my meat. i broiled a chicken breast once. ick. last time i did that. hope Max gets better soon.

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