A New Year And New Recipes

All of the way home from the beach this past President's Day weekend I kept thinking of all of the conversations I'd had with some friends over dinner one night.

Of course after those talks I spent a good portion of the drive home trying to think about what I could make this week to have some healthy, easy dinners that would satisfy me and my two "men" that are left in my house at this time! I truly love to cook for them and love to cook period, but I'm also ready to focus on losing about 10 pounds and feeling good about myself again....which doesn't mean wanting to be "skinny"...it just means wanting to be healthy! To feel like I have more energy and that I'm doing all I can to feed my body physically, mentally and spiritually! And yes, if yoga or pilates or anything of that nature needs to be worked in...it will! All of that to say....my first attempt at a healthy dinner was a wonderful concoction that I revised a wee bit from a cookbook that I normally leave at our beach house. Chef Tim Creehan has some wonderful recipes if you ever want to check out his famous restaurants or cookbooks! This was a wonderful Roasted Chicken recipe with carrots and potatoes. I also did some roasted green beans with a twist! It was all very yummy!

 It makes a very pretty presentation!

 This is the "after" picture!

Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Vegetables

6 chicken breasts with bone in and skin on

to taste....salt

to taste....granulated garlic

to taste...cayenne pepper

2 T dried Rosemary

several sprigs of fresh Rosemary

1-2 T minced garlic

Fingerling potatoes, about 10

5 carrots, scraped and cut into 3 inch pieces

1/2 C olive oil

1/2 C white wine

1 C water

1 C chicken broth

1 T lemon juice

Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry. Place in a greased roasting pan sprayed with Pam with Olive Oil. Sprinkle the chicken breast with the salt, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper. Add cleaned potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle with the minced garlic, dried rosemary and add the sprigs of fresh rosemary. Blend the olive oil, white wine, water, chicken broth and lemon juice together and pour over all. Bake uncovered at 400 for 30-40 minutes. Turn heat to 425 and bake for 15 minutes more. Test for doneness.

Roasted Green Beans, Zucchini and Tomatoes

 Place a small bag of washed, trimmed and broken green beans on a greased cookie sheet....add 2 zucchini's that are washed, halved and then sliced in half moon portions. Toss with a small amount of olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Add 1 carton grape tomatoes, halved....and roast for another 20 minutes or until tender

Toss well and sprinkle liberally with parmesan cheese!

Enjoy!