Garlic Parmesan Chicken Breasts

Ho hum. What to do with the chicken breasts in your fridge? Sure, they are low-calorie and healthy, but are you tired of all your chicken recipes?

Jazz things up a bit tonight by making Garlic Parmesan Chicken Breasts instead. This is a quick, half-hour recipe. No need to marinade or take a lot of prep time.

What do you need?

4-6 boneless chicken breasts
2 heads of garlic - peeled to produce 20-30 whole cloves
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup prepared Caesar dressing
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (use the real stuff, not from a can)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. fresh ground pepper
1/4 t. paprika

Whip it up:

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook chicken and garlic cloves together. Turn after about 3 minutes on each side.

Stir in broth and dressing, then reduce heat to prevent boiling and cover. Turn the chicken again after about 4 minutes.

Remove from heat and sprinkle cheese and spices over the top. Add freshly chopped parsley if desired.

We love having red potatoes and steamed broccoli with this dinner. Add some hot french bread, and dinner is served!

Told you it was fast and easy!

Easy Pork Tenderloin

Pork Tenderloin is so easy and good for you too! Today, I cheated and bought the pre-seasoned pork tenderloin at the grocery store. The store offers a variety of flavors, including peppercorn, but I had envisioned a P.F. Chang’s inspired meal.

The pre-seasoned tenderloin was $5.99. It could feed a family of 3 for two nights, or a family of 6 one night. If math is correct, this meal is right around $1.00/$1.50 per person.

The instructions are on the back of the Pork Tenderloin package. Of course, I did what it said, and cooked it in an oven-safe dish for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the pork cooked, I sliced up a bunch of green onions/scallions on a diagonal and pulled out some sesame seeds. In a small sauce pan, I put about a tablespoon olive oil in to coat the pan. Once hot, I added the green onions and sesame seeds. To that, I added a two tablespoons soy sauce, a tablespoon of hot chili sauce (spicy heat), and 2 tablespoons of peanut sauce (sweet). It made a perfect topping for the Pork Tenderloin.

Here's another alternative recipe for Pork Tenderloin:

As a leftover option, cut up the leftover pork, and make stir fry the next night. Just saute onions, peppers and the pork in a bit of soy sauce or stir fry sauce and pour over white rice. You can also make pork tacos or pork quesadillas with the leftovers.

Tasty and good for you!

French Onion Soup in 15 Minutes

Winter time is the season for soup. Its a hearty meal that will fill you up but won't add to your waistline. One of my favorite soups to enjoy is French Onion. My mom has an excellent recipe to make from scratch, but we're going to tell you how to create a delicious homemade meal with a few shortcuts.

Pull these ingredients together:

• 4 cups Campbell's French Onion soup
• 1 medium onion
• Thick french bread, sliced
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Let's get cooking!

Pour the soup into 2 or 3 bowls that are oven and microwave safe. Microwave the soup base for 2 minutes or until desired temperature.

Slice the french bread and place into toaster oven, or broil on high for 2-3 minutes each side.

While the soup is warming and the french bread is toasting, slice an onion in half and then into strips about 1/4 inch thick. Saute on medium high heat until soft.

Divide the sauteed onion among the soup bowls, top with a toasted bread slice and then about 1/2-3/4 cup of grated cheese.

Broil for approximately 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

Be sure to carefully remove and handle the soup bowls. We've found that its best to place them onto plates at the table. Warn guests that the bowl will be hot. Do not serve to children under age 6!

A few other alternatives to the steps above. Instead of Campbell's, try another soup base. We enjoyed Pacific Natural Foods Organic french onion. Each serving is only 30 calories (before bread and cheese!).

Instead of french bread, use thick croutons. This will speed up your serving time by several minutes.

Finally, experiment with different cheeses. When we enjoyed French Onion Soup today, we added a three cheese blend - Parmesan, Romano and asiago. Its easy to adjust this meal to suit your individual tastes!

Do you have any other alternatives for this basic recipe? Please share in the comments below. Enjoy!