May 29, 2006

Caramelized Onion Chicken

I've been no fun at all lately. Primarily because my normally all-out food-lovin' honey is forcing this twosome on a healthy eating kick that shows no signs of slowing. I don't mean to be a bad sport; I just go into crisis mode when thinking about having to only cook healthy food. Since it shouldn't be as anxiety inducing as it is, I know it's good for us to look into it. After all, it shouldn't be THAT hard for me to think of a dinner that doesn't have cheese in it somewhere. And if it doesn't have cheese, then it probably has cream. And if it doesn't have cream, it has pasta or potatoes. Damn it! I'm screwed.

Cooking Light has gotten a lot of my web-browsing time lately, since our goal is to rely more on moderation and portion control and downsize the number of dinners one can only describe as high fat alcoholic binges. Easy, no? Well, I don't consider myself an unhealthy eater, but I think we all come to a point where we feel like we've been overdoing it. Food is pleasure. If you aren't loving every bite, why are you eating it?

This turned out to be a simple and tasty way to make chicken. I served this with an arugula salad with green beans and toasted almonds. This sauce was nice with the salad, almost like a warm raspberry vinaigrette. A better title for this dish might be Chicken with Jam Sauce, but that's not very elegant.

Caramelized Onion Chicken
from Cooking Light

1 pound chicken breast tenders (I cut up whole breasts)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam (mine had seeds)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté 5 minutes until wilted. Add chicken to pan; sauté 6-8 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove onion and chicken from pan.

Add jam and remaining ingredients to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return chicken mixture to pan; cook 2-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Though this is a flavorful way to make chicken, I didn't notice the rosemary or the ginger at all. Next time I would sprinkle the rosemary and maybe other herbs on the chicken as it's cooking instead of at the end. Taste the sauce before serving and adjust if too sweet.

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