Applebee's Chicken Fried Chicken
1,160 calories
57 g fat (13 g satrated, 1.5 g trans)
3,410 mg sodium
Price: $11.29
Nothing says down-home comfort like fried chicken, and while it's certainly not the most nutritious way to prepare your poultry, a modest serving of breaded bird won't kill you. But this Applebee's plate, with nearly a day's worth of trans fats and more sodium than 21 small bags of Lay's potato chips, doesn't qualify as modest. We're big proponents of lean protein, but here, giant slabs of chicken breast just mean more surface area for grease-soaked breading. Toss in a smothering of country gravy that would make Paula Deen blush, and you have yourself some of the worst fried chicken in the United States.
Eat This Instead!
Oven-Fried Chicken (Check out our recipe!)
250 calories
14 g fat (3 g saturated)
620 mg sodium
Cost per serving: $1.89
Save! 910 calories and $9.40!
WORST CHICKEN PARMESAN
Applebee's Chicken Parm Stack
1,690 calories
95 g fat (42 g saturated, 2.5 g trans)
4,110 mg sodium
Price: $11.49
“Parmesan.” On its own, it’s a simple word for an extraordinary Italian cheese. Attach it to beef, chicken, or even veggies (we’re looking at you, eggplant!), and it becomes code for an oil-soaked, cheese-smothered Italian-American calorie bomb. What’s worse, the standard side dish for chicken parm at most chains is a pile of refined pasta carbs. Luckily we’ve figured out a no-fuss baked version you can make at home that slashes calories and cost dramatically.
Eat This Instead!
Chicken Parm (Check out our recipe!)
340 calories
9 g fat (3.5 g saturated)
540 mg sodium
Cost per serving: $3.13
Save! 1,350 calories and $8.36!
Perkins’s Chicken Pot Pie
1,390 calories
102 g fat (36 g saturated)
2,340 mg sodium
Price: $9.99
There are two surefire ways to ruin a perfectly lean piece of chicken: 1. Coat it in white flour and dunk it in the deep fryer. 2. Drown it in cream sauce and imprison it in a colossal cage of buttery quick-burning carbs. Potpie—stuffed with veggies and lean protein—can make for a hearty, heartening meal, but too often restaurants rely on cheap oils and massive portions, which guarantee that their poultry pots will supply you with a pot belly. And with as many calories as 30 McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets, this Perkins pastry is the worst pot in the lot.
Eat This Instead!
Chicken Potpie (Check out our recipe!)
350 calories
15 g fat (8 g saturated)
650 mg sodium
Cost per serving: $3.84
Save! 1,040 calories and $6.15!
Romano’s Macaroni Grill’s Chicken Under a Brick
1,440 calories
115 g fat (23 g saturated, 1 g trans)
3,640 mg sodium
Price: $16.00
The poor chicken never saw it coming—and we’re not talking about the brick. The Tuscan grilling method of clobbering your poultry with a slab of clay can deliver lean, juicy meat, but Romano’s gives its bird a double beating by drowning it in oil and salt—a maniacal maneuver that results in a dish with 75 percent of your daily calories and one and half days’ worth of sodium. Stats like that will hit your waistline and blood pressure like a ton of, well, bricks.
Eat This Instead!
Sunday Roast Chicken (Check out our recipe!)
520 calories
27 g fat (7 g saturated)
820 mg sodium
Cost per serving: $3.07
Save! 920 calories and $12.93!
WORST CHICKEN
Cheesecake Factory’s Crispy Chicken Costoletta
2,540 calories
N/A g fat (85 g saturated)
2,572 mg sodium
Price: $16.95
A “lightly breaded chicken breast” served with lemon sauce and fresh asparagus sounds like it could be the latest entrée from Lean Cuisine. Instead, it’s a cautionary tale for people who think it’s easy to spot the healthiest food on a restaurant menu. A diner chosing this chicken thinking it the lesser of the many Cheesecake Factory nutritional evils would be shocked to learn he would have been better off ordering three Factory Burgers than eating this combination.
Eat This Instead!
Provençal Chicken (Check out our recipe!)
340 calories
15 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
680 mg sodium
Cost per serving: $2.77
Save! 2,200 calories and $14.18!
For most of us, time is a difficult element to corral. After sleep and work, our hours are few. Then there are dogs to walk, babies to change, and Kardashians to keep up with. When mealtime comes around, we favor convenience over substance—drive-thrus and frozen dinners over the fresh food we all want to eat after a long day.
So here's the million-dollar flat-belly question: Do skinny people have more time to eat healthfully? The answer: absolutely not. They have exactly the same number of minutes as you do. Their secret is in how they use those minutes.
The slow cooker is by no means the only way to eat better with less time, but it is the most reliable. It's the only appliance that cooks for you—safely—while you're at work or in bed. It's more cost-effective than an oven, and unlike a stockpot on the stove, you don't have to worry about it boiling over or drying out your food. It's the kitchen alchemist, providing the slow, steady heat necessary to convert an onion's harsh volatiles into buttery sugars, soften hard winter beans into al dente starches, and transform tough, inexpensive cuts of meat into rich delicacies that fall apart with the softest pressure from your fork.
Yes, with the slow cooker on your side, a soul-warming comfort meal is as simple as a push of a button.
OUR PICK:
WEST BEND VERSATILITY COOKER
$79.99 WestBend.com
Browning meat before a braise is a vital step in maximizing flavor of the final dish. The best slow cookers feature pots that transition easily to your stovetop so you can quickly sear meat over high heat before sticking it on for the slow burn. This one does just that. Better still, the programmable timer switches directly into warming mode when the cooking's finished.
Slow-Cooker
SUPERPOWERS
Combine big chunks of meat like sirloin, brisket, pork shoulder, or bone-in chicken with vegetables (onions, carrots), aromatics (garlic, herbs, spices), and a few cups of liquid (wine, stock, water, or beer). Set it and forget it. By the time you return, the meat will be perfectly tender and most of the fat will be left behind with the cooking liquid.
Combine chunks of pork shoulder, brisket, or chicken thighs with a bottle of salsa verde. Set it on low and by the time you're back from work, you'll have taco filler waiting for you. Just add corn tortillas and a scoop of guac and you're ready for dinner.
Slow cookers do more than just main dishes. Cover dried beans with plenty of water, some bay leaves, and a few cloves of garlic and cook for 4 hours on low. The results will make you wonder why you even mess with the canned stuff.
Why cook slowly? Inexpensive cuts of meat also happen to possess an inordinate amount of flavor, but to enjoy it, you first need to break down all the connective tissue in the meat. Steady low temperatures do it best, which is why slow cookers are so useful: Dump a bunch of inexpensive meat and vegetables into the vessel, cover with your choice of liquid, press on, and disappear for 8 hours. One taste and you'll see why slow cookers make culinary geniuses out of people who can't fry an egg.
Choosing your protein...
• Cook full chicken legs or individual thighs and drumsticks.
• Dried beans cook effortlessly this in a slow cooker. Just cook over low for no more than 3 hours.
Choosing your vegetables...
• Together, onions, carrots and celery (known as mirepoix) form the base of most braises.
• Add vegetables that cook quickly, such as mushrooms, during the last hour of the slow cooker—unless you don't mind eating mush.
Choosing your braising liquid...
• The flavor of the beer you choose will really affect the final dish, so choose wisely.
• For vinegar, choose balsamic, wine, rice wine, or sherry.
Choosing your flavor enhancers...
• A few spoonfuls of tomato paste adds body and flavor to the braise.
• When choosing fresh herbs, consider thyme, rosemary, and parsley
These slow-cooked comfort concoctions span the globe, but all have one thing in common: huge flavor. Crock, lock, and load.
ASIAN SHORT RIBS
Short ribs + onions + carrots + garlic + soy sauce + rice wine vinegar + beef stock + ginger + honey
COQ AU VIN (RED WINE CHICKEN)
Chicken legs + mirepoix + garlic + red wine
+ chicken stock + tomato paste + mushrooms
PORK RAGU*
Pork shoulder + mirepoix + white wine
+ stock + can of tomatoes + rosemary
* Once cooked, shred the meat with a fork, combine with some of the vegetables and braising liquid, and serve over pasta or polenta.
Sunday Roast Chicken
This dish is every bit as delicious on a Tuesday or Friday, but there’s something about a chicken roasting on a bed of vegetables that makes the Sunday night specter of the long week ahead that much more palatable. The key to this chicken is seasoning it long before cooking. The salt will penetrate the flesh, seasoning the bird down to the bone and helping create a juicier roast. If you follow no other part of this recipe, at least follow that one trick.
Pan Gravy
A roast chicken leaves behind the perfect base for a rich gravy. Combine the roasting juices accumulated beneath the chicken in a pan with a spoonful of flour. Slowly add warm chicken stock, whisking to keep lumps from forming. Flavor with herbs, a splash of white wine, or a squeeze of lemon.
You’ll Need:
1 whole chicken (about 4 lbs)*
2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
4 cloves garlic, minced
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 medium onions, quartered
2 cups peeled and chopped butternut squash
4 cups Brussels sprouts, ends removed
* The chicken can be roasted with any firm vegetables: potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips. Vary at will; just be sure to cut into equal pieces.
How to Make It:
• The morning of the day you roast the chicken, rinse it and pat it dry. Combine the thyme, mustard, garlic, lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon olive oil and rub over the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and black pepper. Refrigerate until you’re ready to cook, up to 12 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the vegetables in a large roasting pan. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus salt and pepper, and toss. Use kitchen twine to tie the chicken legs together with a knot at the end of the drumsticks. Use another piece of twine to tie the wings together tight against the body of the chicken by looping the string around the wing tip, then running it under the chicken back.
• Place the chicken in the roasting pan and roast on the middle rack for 45 to 55 minutes, until the skin is deeply browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 170°F.
• Rest the chicken for 10 minutes before carving and serving with the vegetables.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$3.07
520 calories
27 g fat (7 g saturated)
820 mg sodium
Provençal Chicken
This is the type of simple, healthy, satisfying dish that gives Mediterranean cooking its reputation as the perfect fusion of flavor and nutrition. All of the key components—white wine, tomatoes, olives, herbs—have the distinct advantage of being both intensely flavorful and incredibly good for you. Truth be told, we’re not really sure if people in Provence eat their chicken like this, but it has the soul of southern France in every bite.
You’ll Need:
1 Tbsp olive oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1½ lb total)
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 small yellow onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp herbes de Provence
¼ cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
Fresh basil for garnish (optional)
How to Make It:
• Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Season the chicken all over with salt and black pepper. Add the chicken to the pan and cook, turning once, for about 6 minutes total, until seared and nicely browned. (Work in two batches if need be, so as not to overcrowd the pan.) Remove the chicken to a plate and reserve.
• To the same pan, add the onions, garlic, and tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions and tomatoes are very soft. Add the wine, broth, and herbes de Provence and bring the mixture to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer uncovered, turning the chicken halfway through, for about 20 minutes, until the meat is very tender. Stir in the olives, garnish with basil if you like, and serve.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$2.77
340 calories
15 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
680 mg sodium
Turkey Meat Loaf
Among the most comforting of all comfort foods, a well-made meat loaf delivers that warm, rib-sticking goodness we all crave. The key to excellent meat loaf is threefold: a well-seasoned base, a generous glaze, and careful cooking. We realize that some people may still bear scars from the bone-dry loaves of their childhoods, but this creation will banish those with a single bite.
There are more than a few ways to reinvent meat loaf the next day (topped with a fried egg, covered with sautéed peppers and onions), but for our money, the best bet is still a thick meat loaf sandwich. Gently sauté onions until nicely caramelized while reheating the meat loaf in a 325°F oven with a thin slice of smoked gouda, and serve it all on a toasted bun. It's worth making this recipe for the sandwich alone.
You’ll Need:
TURKEY MEAT LOAF
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
½ red bell pepper, stemmed and quartered
1 small carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1½ lb ground turkey
½ cup bread crumbs
¼ cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp Worcestershire
1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
GLAZE
½ cup ketchup
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
How to Make It:
• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Combine the onion, bell pepper, carrot, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely minced. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can do this by hand.) Combine the vegetables with the turkey, bread crumbs, stock, egg, Worcestershire, soy sauce, thyme, and salt and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Gently mix until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed.
• Dump the meat loaf mixture into a 13" x 9" baking dish and use your hands to form a loaf roughly 9" long and 6" wide. Mix the glaze ingredients together and spread over the meat loaf. Bake for 1 hour, until the glaze has turned a deep shade of red and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf registers 160°F.
Makes 6 servings
Per Serving:
$1.73
290 calories
11 g fat (3 g saturated)
920 mg sodium
Creamy Mushroom Chicken
Chicken buried in mushrooms and cream is the type of dish as at home in a country kitchen as it is in an upscale urban restaurant. We take cues from both ends of the spectrum: brown mushrooms and chicken stock from the country, a touch of sherry and some dried mushrooms from the city. The combination of Greek yogurt and half-and-half gives the sauce richness and a lovely velvety texture without weighing it down.
You’ll Need:
1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more if needed
4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (6 oz each)
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 medium shallot, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup sherry*
¼ cup dried mushrooms (porcini, chanterelle, shiitake), soaked in ½ cup warm water for 15 minutes
½ cup low-sodium chicken stock
¼ cup half-and-half
¼ cup Greek yogurt
* In a pinch, sweet, fortified wines like Madeira or Marsala will work in place of the sherry.
How to Make It:
• Heat the olive oil over high heat in a large sauté pan. Season the chicken all over with salt and black pepper. Add the chicken to the pan and sear for about 3 minutes, until a nice deep brown crust develops on the bottom sides. Flip and continue to cook for 3 minutes longer, until the other sides are also nicely browned. Remove to a plate.
• If the pan is dry after cooking the chicken, add a thin film of olive oil. Add the shallot, garlic, and cremini mushrooms to the pan and sauté for about 3 minutes, until the mushrooms are lightly browned. Season with salt and black pepper. Add the sherry and cook for 1 minute, using a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape loose any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the dried mushrooms (and soaking liquid), chicken stock, and half-and-half. Turn the heat down to low and return the chicken to the pan.
• Continue cooking for 8 to 10 minutes, until the liquid reduces by half and the chicken is cooked through. Add the yogurt and stir to create a smooth, uniform sauce. Divide the chicken among 4 plates and top with the mushroom sauce.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$3.46
270 calories
10 g fat (3 g saturated)
420 mg sodium
Oven-Fried Chicken
We’ll be the first to admit that the idea of oven-fried chicken rubs us the wrong way. Usually the chicken comes out dry and the crust soggy or nonexistent, leaving your need to eat crispy, juicy food unfulfilled. But this version defies all expectations. First, the chicken is brined in buttermilk and hot sauce, then it’s coated in bread crumbs that have been tossed in a gentle amount of oil. The result? The juiciest, crispiest oven-fried chicken ever.
Nothing quite like coming to the fridge at midnight with a case of the munchies and finding a pile of cold fried chicken to dive into. With this low-cal chicken, for once it's a safe move, but still, we implore you to keep the chicken around long enough to try one of these other dishes.
• Flaky Southern Biscuits with chicken (pulled off the bone for this and the following recipes), honey, and hot sauce
• Mixed green salad with chicken, toasted walnuts, diced apple, blue cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette
• BLT with chunks of chicken
You’ll Need:
8 chicken drumsticks
4 cups nonfat buttermilk
¼ cup salt
¼ cup sugar
1 Tbsp hot sauce (preferably Frank’s RedHot pepper sauce)
2 cups panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp garlic salt
How to Make It:
• Combine the chicken, buttermilk, salt, sugar, and hot sauce in a sealable plastic bag and shake to combine. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• In a large mixing bowl, use your fingers to break up the panko bread crumbs into slightly smaller pieces (this will help create a more even coating on the chicken). Add the oil, chili powder, and garlic salt and stir to combine. Working with one piece at a time, remove the chicken from the marinade, shake off the excess liquid, then toss in the bread crumbs until thoroughly coated.
• Place the chicken pieces on a rack set in a rimmed nonstick baking sheet. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for about 30 min-utes, until the bread crumbs are evenly browned and the chicken is cooked through.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$1.89
250 calories
14 g fat (3 g saturated)
620 mg sodium
90-Minute Roasted Turkey
with Orange-Cranberry Relish
This magical turkey came about out of sheer necessity. It was Matt's senior year in college and a spontaneous Thanksgiving feast had materialized around him. The only problem? It was 7 p.m. and there was no turkey in the oven. He remembered an old recipe espousing the joys of a turkey blasted at 500°F, effectively searing the skin a beautiful brown and leaving the meat moist inside. By 9 p.m., one of the greatest Thanksgiving spreads on record was laid before a group of 20 hungry students. This bird was the centerpiece.
Because of the high heat used to cook this turkey, you may get a bit of smoke in your oven. The best way to curtail the smoke, of course, is to have a clean oven. Beyond that, cover the wing tips and the drumstick ends midway through the cooking, as they may char when exposed to high heat for so long. If this sounds like a pain in the butt, remember that you'll be cooking one of the best turkeys of your life in just 90 minutes.
You’ll Need:
1 (12–14 lb) turkey*
1 Tbsp kosher salt
* It's important that the turkey be this size. Larger turkeys will burn on the surface before being cooked all the way through.
How to Make It:
• The morning before you plan to cook the turkey, season the bird all over with the salt.
• Ninety minutes before cooking the turkey, remove it from the fridge so it can come up to room temperature. Thirty minutes before cooking, drape a sealable plastic bag filled with ice over the breasts. (Sounds crazy, but the ice will cool the breasts and help prevent them from overcooking while the dark meat cooks through.)
• Preheat the oven to 500°F. Place the turkey on a roasting rack set in a large roasting pan. Roast the turkey on the bottom rack of the oven until the skin is deeply bronzed and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of a thigh registers 160°F. (If the wing tips or ends of the drumsticks begin to burn, you can cover them with foil.) This will take anywhere between 75 and 100 minutes, depending on the size of your turkey and the heat of your oven.
Makes about 15 servings
Per Serving:
$1.29
260 calories
6 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
240 mg sodium
Chicken Parm
Despite the fact that it’s the size of a Frisbee, fried in oil, and covered in cheese, the biggest problem with chicken parm remains the pile of pasta upon which it invariably is served. That’s why we serve our chicken parm with garlicky spinach: It not only cuts calories and boosts nutrition dramatically, it also adds a citrus punch that pairs perfectly with the saucy chicken. We coat the bird in Japanese-style bread crumbs (which crisp up better than the standard variety) and then bake it until golden brown, a move that saves you the hassle (and the unwanted fat) of frying at home.
You’ll Need:
1 extra-large egg
2 cups panko bread crumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 oz each), pounded to uniform ⅓-inch thickness
1½ cups Tomato Sauce, heated
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
How to Make It:
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Crack the egg into a shallow dish and beat. In a separate shallow dish (a pie pan works nicely), combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, olive oil, Italian seasoning, and a few generous pinches of salt and black pepper.
• Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dip into the egg, then into the bread crumbs, using your fingers to press the crumbs into the chicken. Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet or roasting pan and place in the oven on the middle rack. Bake for about 12 minutes, until the chicken is firm to the touch and the bread crumbs are golden brown.
• Remove the chicken from the oven and set the oven to broil. Cover each breast with a good ladle of tomato sauce and a handful of mozzarella. Return to the middle rack of the oven and broil for about 3 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
• Serve the chicken over the spinach with extra tomato sauce, if you like.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$3.13
340 calories
9 g fat (3.5 g saturated)
540 mg sodium
Chicken Potpie
Potpies may be one of America’s favorite comfort foods, but there’s nothing comforting about a dish that can swallow up an entire day’s worth of calories, fat, and sodium, as some restaurant renditions do. We teach you a few simple tricks for creating a deeply delicious, remarkably lean potpie.
The bulk of the calories in potpies come from the butter-laden pastry that crowns the bowls. This recipe calls for puff pastry rolled extra thin to minimize the caloric impact—but to further reduce your fat intake, you can make two quick substitutions: 1) Instead of puff pastry, try a few layers of phyllo dough brushed with a bit of butter. 2) Replace the half-and-half with another ½ cup milk.
You’ll Need:
2 Tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups stemmed and quartered white or cremini mushrooms
2 cups frozen pearl onions
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (leftover or pulled from a store-bought rotisserie chicken)
¼ cup flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, warmed
1 cup 2% or whole milk
½ cup half-and-half
1½ ups frozen peas
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
How to Make It:
• Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion, carrots, and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and pearl onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken and the flour.
• Slowly add in the chicken broth, whisking to avoid clumping (having the broth warm helps smooth out the sauce). Add the milk and half-and-half and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and lightly clings to the vegetables and chicken. Stir in the peas. Season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the pastry into quarters. Roll out each piece on a floured surface to make a 6" square. Divide the chicken mixture among 4 ovenproof bowls. (Or pour chicken in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish and top with a single ¼-inch-thick piece of pastry.) Place a pastry square over the top of each bowl and trim away the excess with a paring knife; pinch the dough around the edges of the bowl to secure it. Brush the tops with the egg whites and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$3.84
350 calories
15 g fat (8 g saturated)
650 mg sodium
Basque Chicken
The Basques of northern Spain have long taken pride in their prodigious culinary powers. After all, this is the land of powerful wines, pintxos (an early form of tapas), and San Sebastián, one of the great gastronomic cities of the world. This dish combines some of the great flavors of northern Spain—smoked paprika, sweet peppers, piquant chorizo—in a slow-cooked stew that could warm even the most frigid soul. We’ve taken a few liberties with the flavors here (dark beer isn’t exactly a Spanish staple), but the results reflect the beauty of the Basque kitchen.
You’ll Need:
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 link Spanish chorizo, sliced into ¼"-thick coins
1 bottle (12 oz) porter, stout, or other dark beer
1½ cups low-sodium chicken stock
2 Tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 large onion, quartered
1 red bell pepper, chopped
8 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp cumin
2 bay leaves
4 cups baby spinach (optional)
How to Make It:
• Heat the olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Season the chicken all over with salt and black pepper and cook the pieces until browned on all sides, about 7 minutes. Add the chorizo and continue cooking for another 2 minutes, until the chorizo has browned as well. Transfer the meat to the slow cooker.
• Pour the beer into the skillet, scraping the bottom to loosen any brown bits. Add to the slow cooker, along with the stock, vinegar, onion, bell pepper, garlic, paprika, cumin, and bay leaves and cook on low for 4 hours.
• If using spinach, add it 10 minutes before serving, giving it enough time to cook down in the warm braising liquid. Before serving, discard the bay leaves and taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and black pepper. Serve in wide shallow bowls with a ladle of the braising liquid poured over the top.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$3.42
370 calories
20 g fat (6 g saturated)
700 mg sodium
Jambalaya
No city or region in America lays claim to a richer, more influential lineup of culinary creations than New Orleans and the surrounding Creole country. Gumbo, étouffée, beignets, po’boys—all are part of Louisiana’s incomparable culinary heritage. No dish, though, is more famous than jambalaya, the rice-based hodgepodge of meat, seafood, and vegetables not unlike the Spanish paella. By decreasing the rice ratio and increasing the produce and protein, this recipe cuts the calories and carbs dramatically. But it still has enough soul to satisfy the most discerning Creole critics.
You’ll Need:
1 tsp olive or canola oil
1 cup diced turkey kielbasa
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into ½" cubes
1 cup long-grain rice
2¼ cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato paste
⅛ tsp cayenne
2 bay leaves
8 oz medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and black pepper to taste
Frank’s RedHot, Tabasco, or other hot sauce
Chopped scallions (optional)
How to Make It:
• Heat the oil in a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat. Add the kielbasa and cook for about 3 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.
• Push the vegetables and kielbasa to the perimeter, making a well in the center of the pan. Add the chicken and sauté until lightly browned but not cooked through, about 3 minutes. Stir in the rice, stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, cayenne, and bay leaves. Turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 17 minutes, until nearly all of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Uncover, add the shrimp, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the rice is tender and the shrimp is cooked through. Discard the bay leaves. Season with salt, black pepper, and hot sauce and garnish with the scallions, if using.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$4.15
380 calories
15 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
1,070 mg sodium
Chicken & Dumplings
This is the kind of food Mom makes when the sniffles set in. It has many of the same magical powers and core flavors of chicken noodle soup—root vegetables, savory broth, shredded chicken—but is made more substantial by the addition of a roux to thicken the soup base and, of course, fluffy dumplings. Of course, the real magic is in those pillows of rosemary-scented joy, which soak up the hearty liquid and, when combined with the juicy chicken, make for one of the most satisfying, savory bites imaginable.
You’ll Need:
2 Tbsp butter
4 medium carrots, diced
1 medium onion, diced
3 Tbsp plus ⅔ cup flour
½ tsp dried thyme
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Salt and black pepper to taste
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
½ cup 2% milk
½ cup frozen peas
How to Make It:
• Heat the butter in a pot or large saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrots and onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the 3 tablespoons flour and the thyme, stirring so that the vegetables are evenly coated. Slowly add the stock, whisking to prevent lumps from forming. Bring to a gentle simmer.
• Season the chicken thighs with salt and black pepper and add to the pot, submerging them in the stock. Poach the chicken for about 8 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove to a cutting board to rest.
• Combine the remaining ⅔ cup flour with the baking powder, rosemary, ¼ teaspoon salt, and lots of black pepper. Add the milk and gently stir until the dough just comes together. Form loosely into 8 dumplings and drop them directly into the soup. Cover the pot and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, until the dumplings have firmed up.
• Shred the reserved chicken. Add to the pot, along with the peas, stirring carefully so as not to break up the dumplings. Heat through for 1 minute before serving.
Makes 4 servings
Per Serving:
$1.83
380 calories
12 g fat (5 g saturated)
810 mg sodium