Tandori-Spiced Chicken

Before I get carried away with tonight's dinner, I just realized that I never told you all who won the Muy Bueno Cookbook from my contest. I have no real good excuse as to why it's taken me so long. But I did inform the person who one...and she did receive it.

Let's give a nice big round of applause to Tango from Tangos Treasures

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!

I hope you enjoy the cookbook as much as I am :)

A while back (a long while back) I use to post Salubrious Sunday recipes. They were basically health conscious recipes that I posted on Sundays. Not sure why I stopped but according to my Facebook followers, there's quite a desire for healthy recipes.

Which really isn't my forte.

I am a lover of carbs, sugars, dairy (cheese, creams and eggs) and...alcohol. As you can imagine, healthy recipes can be quite challenging for me. Not that I don't have a lot of recipes to choose from. I just have a hard time finding one that satisfies me. I need recipes that don't leave me craving for fat and carbs.

Are there any of you out there who would like to assist me in finding recipes that qualify for Salubrious Sunday dishes? If so, shoot me an email: peacefulcooking @ gmail dot com 

I think it would be rather fun to see what healthy recipes you all are cooking and do a 

weekly roundup of healthy dishes on Sundays. 

Well, here I am with a very delicious and satisfying Weight Watchers recipe that I'd like to share with you. It's very easy....and absolutely wonderful. (it doesn't take much to amaze me haha).

Tandori-Spiced Chicken
Serves 4
Printable Version

1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt (I used plain, fat-free Greek yogurt)
1 TB minced ginger, fresh
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TB paprika
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 - 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 - 3 cups hot, cooked basmati rice

Here's a little tip for you. Store your fresh ginger in the freezer. When you're ready to use it, not only does it defrost quickly if needed, but a micro-plainer is perfect for "mincing" ginger. The skin is easily removed with a knife and poof....within seconds you have a mound of snowflake soft ginger

(pssst.....it also works great with garlic cloves!)

In a zip-lock bag, combine the yogurt, ginger, garlic, paprika, turmeric, curry and cinnamon. Squish it around to mix. Add the chicken. Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours...or overnight.

When you're ready to cook dinner:

Preheat the oven to 450' F. Line a baking dish with foil. Place a rack on the foil. Spray the rack with canola cooking spray.

Remove the chicken for the yogurt marinade (toss the marinade in the trash). Place chicken on the prepared rack and season with salt and pepper.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with 1/2 cup of rice. I also roasted some green beans that had been tossed in a little olive oil, garlic powder and paprika. The green beans went in the oven with the chicken on a separate tray.

Tonight's Salubrious Sunday was wonderful. The chicken was tender and juicy and bursting with flavor. I just love basmati rice. If you're not a curry fan, maybe try substituting Garam Masala.  I don't have the nutritional breakdown for the green beans but here it is for the Tandori-Spiced Chicken and Rice....

Each serving consists of 1 chicken thigh and 1/2 cup of rice (green bean nutritional value not included):

298 Cal
9 g total fat (2 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat)
75 mg chol
269 mg sod
33 g total carb
1 g total sugar
1 g fig
23 g prot
35 g calc
Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 8

Tandori Spiced Chicken

Take a look at that chicken! Full of flavor and it's healthy and light and way good for you.

About a week or so ago for some reason that was totally not my norm, I bought a healthy cookbook. The driving factor in the background of my mind was the awareness of a need. To reduce. On so many levels. We'll leave it at that. But...the book I bought was Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook. I've never joined Weight Watchers in my life. Not sure if I ever will. To be honest...I've never been on a diet in my entire life. Once upon a time, there was no need to even think about it. But I'm not sure, even though it's needed at this point in my life, that I "believe" in diets. What I am is a firm believer in eating habits. And I think mine need to be adjusted.

So....with that said....here I sit with this new cookbook. This is the second recipe I've made from it and have been please with them both. The first one I made was very tasty but did not product a pretty picture. Maybe someday I'll share it with you and make you suffer through the photo. It was called Chicken Mushroom Hash Casserole.

This chicken was packed with flavor, only using a few ingredients and was tender and juicy. Weight Watchers has it listed as a 8 in the Points Plus Value area with 298 calories, grams of fat and 369 mg of sodium, just to name a few nutritional facts. In case you're interested.

Tandori Spiced Chicken 
4 servings

Printable Version

1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt (I have found that Greek yogurt has the best flavor)
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups cooked basmati rice (hot)

I just love the rich colors from the spices used! Don't they just scream exotic flavors?

Combine the yogurt, ginger, garlic, paprika, turmeric, curry and cinnamon. Place in a large zip lock baggy along with the chicken.

This marinade is so thick you can't even see the chicken through the baggy!

Refrigerate, turning the bag occasionally for about 4 hours, minimum. If you can do it over night, that would be even better.

Preheat the oven to 450' F. Place the chicken in a shallow roasting pan, on a rack that has been spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper

 Now that is one thick marinade!!

Bake for about 25 minutes or until done.

Server over 1/2 cup of rice

A while back, about a year or more...I use to post Salubrious Sunday meals. My oldest daughter has requested that I go back to making healthy meals on Sundays. I'm considering it. If any of you would like to join me, maybe I'll include a linky thingy. Of course it wouldn't have to be a meal that was cooked on Sunday...I'd just post it on Sunday. What do you all think? Anyone else wanna play?