Chicken Piccata - His and Hers

As if dieting isn't hard enough, I find the men in our lives don't make it any easier!  Perhaps I am just speaking for myself, but trying to maintain a diet Weight Watchers style and eat with the husband do NOT go hand in hand.  I've talked to several other women who seem to have the same complaint about their not so better halves.  The men I seem to know are far more content on the starvation diet or some low carb high meat intake diet.  Just this very weekend my husband said "I'd rather not eat anything than bland boring food."  Wow, thanks for the support honey, you rock!  I had this idealistic notion that when I got married we'd be a team and like the same things and making dinners together as we both like to cook.  Well, the trouble began even before the days of the diet.

We could not have more different eating routines if we tried, as he hails from the deep South and I am a Yankee through and through.  He likes a meat with 10,000 side dishes (none of which I'd deem healthy) while I prefer a single meal...meaning a stir fry over rice, a pasta dish...simple.  Another key difference is in the very way we prepare our food.  Prime example being vegetable.  He won't eat a vegetable (or at least enjoy it) unless its been cooking (by cooking I mean boiling in water with a slab of bacon or some such equivalent) for at least 24 hours.  By the time it's what he calls palatable the poor sad vegetable has lost any of its original color or shape as it drapes lifelessly over his fork.  I suppose the reason for the bacon grease it to replace some flavor lost in the "cooking" process.  I, on the other hand, prefer my vegetable crisp, not raw, but just steamed enough to produce a slight snap when bitten.  I prefer steaming to boiling.  They are bright, colorful, and packed with nutrients.  I mean no disrespect to my Southern relatives by dissing their vegetable cooking methods but I have to favor my own....hence the discrepancy in cooking and eating styles!

So, it was no real surprise to me that the food woes would continue now that I am even more particular about what I'm eating.  Last night I made Chicken Piccata (recipe to follow).  I was hoping that by having a meat product and a few sides we would both be satisfied enough.  Even  last night we had varying version of the same meal (as well I basically had to tell him I was making dinner tonight for a change).

Chicken Piccata (5 points based on just below...ie not including any sides)
Source: Unknown (Cannot find link to reference so re-typing)
Serves 4

Ingredients:
-1/4 cup flour: 2 points
-1/2 Tsp Salt: 0 points
-1/2 Tsp Ground Black Pepper: 0 points
-1 Tsp Olive Oil: 1 point
-1 Tsp Butter: 1 point
-2 cloves garlic: 0 points
-4 4oz boneless skinless chicken breast (I use the "thin slice" so you don't have to pound them to culet width): 3 points for 4.5 oz piece skiness chicken breast
-1/2 cup low sodium/fat free chicken stock: 0 points
-1/4 cup white wine: 2 points
-1 Tbsn capers: 0 points
-1 lemon (juiced): 0 points

1.  If you did not buy thin sliced chicken slice the breast and using a meat mallet pound the chicken until about 1/4 inch thick.  If you have a food scale weight each portion to be roughly 4 oz.
2.  Place flour, salt, and pepper in small bowl and mix.  Coat each piece of chicken with flour (there will be excess mix).
3.  In large skillet heat olive oil and butter until melted.  Added chopped garlic and simmer until just slightly browned (if you need to add some cooking spray you can).  Add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides.
4.  Remove the chicken and put aside on plate (may not be fully cooked at this point but will cook later in sauce).
5.  Add chicken stock, wine, lemon juice and capers to skillet.  Cook over medium heat scraping the bottom of the pan until clean.
6.  Add the chicken back to pan and simmer while covered for about 7-10 minutes (turn chicken frequently). Sauce will thicken to a glaze.

I serve over rice with a vegetable on the side.  To "point out" this meal I'm using 5 as a conservative estimate.  If you ate ALL the sauce the recipe yields it is 6 points (however, you don't even use all the flour and I'm pretty sure the alcohol burns off).  So if you had four portions and divided sauce you are at 1.5 points plus the 3 points for chicken rounds to 5 points.  If you have points to kill and are hungry eat a bigger piece of chicken.  One cup of rice is 4 points - so that becomes a 9 point meal.  Last night I made with my filling from the Veggie Roll up because I did not have enough of any one veggie (I would normally make this with some green beans or spinach and lightly coat with 0 point spray butter/salt/pepper for 0 points).  Anyway, in theory, this is a more traditional meal that you can enjoy with your non weight watcher man (unless of course you are me and live with Southern Freak Boy - sorry M but you know you feel the same way about me :-).

Ta Da!  You will notice an absence of capers - I do not like them so do not add to my recipe.

Clearly the above was plated again by my sister for appearances.  Mine would be a pile all spilling on top of each other!  She continues to complain about the light in my house, but there isn't much I can do about that.  I cook at night when it's dark.  I don't have a professional lighting system for my food photography.  And per my blog entry "The Dreaded Playdate....to eat or not to eat" (http://20lbstogo.blogspot.com/2010/04/dreaded-playdateto-eat-or-not-to-eat.html), I am NOT "The Perfect Mom" who has time to whip this up in the middle of the day for photography sake in order to capitalize on the natural light.  Alas, I assure you it tastes wonderful and is a very quick meal to make!

The picture above (while messier) is what I ate.  My husband, my love, my dear, decided my cooking needed a little fine tuning.  I should have had the foresight to snap a picture for humor sake today but alas I did not so you will all have to use your imaginations.  He ate the chicken (said he liked it) to humor me.  I know he's not a huge lemon fan (unless he's eating a dessert) so I will cut him some slack on this meal.  Since he couldn't use the lemon sauce on the rice, he had to make a packet of chicken gravy (we did not have any brown gravy mix which was choice number one) to pour over the rice.  Didn't you all know you can't eat rice plain?  He asked if adding a can of diced tomatoes would be gross - I think the look I shot him was all he needed to put the can back in the pantry.  Two sides was not enough so he had a helping of baked beans (also doctored by adding ketchup and brown sugar).  My veggie slaw was too bland so he only had a bite or two which had to be accented with ketchup - yes I did say ketchup.  This repulsive (I know I'm in the minority here so will take full responsibility for my freakish dislike of ketchup) substance is like air to my husband....an additional food group if you will.  I'm waiting for the day he uses ketchup in lieu of cake frosting.  Yummy!

Anyway, hopefully this post allowed you all to laugh and try a new recipe.  Additionally, I hope my husband and southern relatives will still consider me part of the family after taking this opportunity to poke fun at our cultural differences!  I am sure this is not the last you'll hear of this.  Until tomorrow, happy healthy eating.