Souffle Stuffed Chicken from The South Beach Diet Cookbook

1 package (12 ounces) Stouffer's frozen spinach souffle, not thawed (I've never actually found this, so I use frozen creamed spinach)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4" thickness
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt
Ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley, for garnish
Slices lemon, for garnish
Sprig parsley, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Using a serrated knife, cut the spinach souffle crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Top half of each whole breast with one of the pieces of souffle. Fold half of the chicken over the filling and fasten the edges with wooden picks.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes, or until golden. Discard the garlic. Add the chicken breasts to the skillet and cook for 7 minutes per side, or until well-browned on both sides.
Remove the chicken breasts to an oven-proof dish. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
While the chicken is baking, add the broth, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper to the large skillet. Heat to boiling. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the sauce is reduced about 1/2.
To serve, remove and discard the wooden picks. Arrange the chicken on a warm serving platter, and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Garnish with the chopped parsley, lemon, and parsley sprig.
Nutrition: 308 calories, 15 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 32 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 136 mg cholesterol, 719 mg sodium

Melba's note: I read Sammie his choices for dinner tonight and he said, "What about that one dish that's like chicken cordon bleu but spinach." From this rather inelegant description, I was finally able to determine that this is what he was talking about. It's delicious!

Chicken Capri

This is from the South Beach Diet Cookbook

1 cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup crushed tomatoes
4 slices reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

In a blender or food processor, combine the ricotta with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Process to blend.
Rub the chicken with the garlic powder. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 12 minutes per side. Place the chicken breasts, side by side, in a large baking dish and allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spoon 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture and 1/4 cup tomatoes onto each chicken breast. Top each chicken breast with 1 slice mozzarella. Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: 340 calories, 15 g fat, 5 g sat. fat, 44 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 115 g cholesterol, 470 g sodium.

Melba's note: Sammie and I LOVE this! For those of you fluent or at least conversant in South Beach-ese, this is a phase one recipe. Sammie didn't believe me when I told him that. He thought I had just splurged. It's like Chicken Parmigiana, but lighter. I made it last night for Jennie (little sister) and my Dad. (Quick update on my life - I'm in SLC taking care of Dad after a mountain biking accident sent him in to hip surgery Sat. night. He's doing great.) They loved it!

Oatmeal Pancakes

These are from The South Beach Diet Cookbook

1 1/4 cups rolled oats
2 cups fat-free milk
1 egg
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar (substitute, if you want to be truly South Beach)
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, combine the oats and milk and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Stir in the egg, flour, wheat germ, baking powder, sugar, oil, and salt, mixing until evenly blended and only small lumps remain. Let the batter stand for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Makes 12 pancakes
Nutrition Information per pancake: 90 calories, 2 g fat, 1/2 g protein, 14 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 20 mg cholesterol, 250 mg sodium

These are my new favorite comfort food. Sammie's out of town tonight and I have a terrible horrible no good very bad cough that's going around PA so I cooked some of these up for dinner. The batter keeps well in the fridge. yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Chicken with Lime Dressing

(This is from the South Beach Diet Cookbook)

Lime Dressing:
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbs chopped scallions
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp sugar/sugar substitute (it has to say that cuz it's a diet cookbook...)
1/2 tsp salt
Combine the ingredients in a large bowl.

Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2" thickness
2 medium avocados, pitted and peeled
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 tsps picante sauce
1 tsp + 1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 Tbs whole wheat flour
Combine chicken with 3 Tbs of the lime dressing. Cover and refrigerate for 10 mins.
In a medium bowl, mash the avocados with 2 Tbs of the lime dressing. Stir in the lemon juice and picante sauce. Reserve the remaining lime dressing.
Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes, or until the pepper is tender and lightly browned. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove to a large bowl and add the almonds. (Or, I threw the almonds in the pan with the garlic and "toasted" them that way. It smelled awesome!)
Remove the chicken from the dressing and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle flour over both sides of the chicken.
Heat the remaining 1 Tbs of oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 6 minutes on each side, or until done. Place the chicken on 4 serving plates and equally divide the pepper mixture, sprinkling over the chicken. Drizzle the reserved dressing over each serving. Serve with a side of the mashed avocados.

Melba's note: I had forgotten about this recipe until my Mom bought this cookbook and asked me which recipes I liked from it. (All of them, basically!) I noticed that I had written positive reviews on this one, but couldn't remember making it. I tried it again tonight and we remembered why we liked it so much!

Pistachio Chicken from South Beach Diet

Chicken

1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts, finely ground (Use unsalted. I used salted once and my mouth was burning. I make Sammie shell the pistachios while he's watching football and I grind them up in the food processor.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 Tbs olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375. Mix the nuts in a pie plate with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Press the chicken into the nuts. Heat 1 Tbs of the oil in a skillet and cook the coated breasts, 2 minutes per side. Place the breasts in a baking dish and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until done. Serve with Dressing.

Dressing
1 teaspoon grated onion (I always cheat and use frozen chopped onions)
1 large ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
3 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs fresh lime juice (I cheat here too and use lime juice from a bottle)
1 Tbs water
Puree the onion, avocado, oil, lime juice, and water in a blender.
Yummy!

This is a great recipe for having friends over. I already have great memories of cooking it for Jeremy and Heather Kidd, for Wendy and Catherine, for Amy and Rachel, and for Mom, Liza, Ben and Joe. It always gets rave reviews! The dressing can also be used as guacamole.