I am a sucker for a quick, healthy meal; and this is just that! I recently picked up a copy of America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook and I absolutely adore this cookbook! I sat down with it the first night and paper clipped all the recipes I want to try first, how 5th grade of me, I know. I really like that they offer a lot of variations of an easy prep meal, take this for example; first, they have a recipe for “spa chicken” which is just a poached chicken, but it explains how to do so correctly to give the chicken a lot of flavor. This preparation of chicken is GREAT because it adds no fat or calories to the dish. Then, they have two pages of low fat sauces to top it with so you can easily change things up. SOLD! I served mine over whole wheat pasta with some fresh Parmesan cheese and it was great, and much more healthy. I highly recommend the recipe and the book! Enjoy!
Lighter Chicken Marsala (Print Me)
Ingredients:
“Spa Chicken”
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, trimmed of fat
Salt & Pepper
1 1/2 cups water
4 cloves minced garlic
Thyme
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
Mushroom Marsala Sauce
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
8 oz mushrooms, white or portabella
1 clove minced garlic
2 tsp minced fresh or dried thyme
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry marsala
1 Tbsp water
1 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
Directions:
Chicken:
Season the chicken lightly with salt & pepper. Combine the water, garlic, thyme and soy sauce into a large skillet. Add the chicken then bring to a simmer over medium-low heat (do NOT allow the water to boil or the chicken will get tough). Allow the chicken to cook for 10-15 minutes, flip the chicken and cover. **Start Sauce** Continue to cook until chicken reaches 160º-165º (about 10-15 minutes longer). Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent loosely with aluminum foil, let rest for 5 minutes.
Sauce:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt, cook until browned (about 15 minutes). Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Whisk in the chicken broth and Marsala, bring to a simmer. Whisk the water and cornstarch together then stir into the sauce. Simmer the sauce until thickened (about 5 minutes). Remove the sauce from heat, whisk in the butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition*:
1 6oz Chicken Breast- Calories 190, Fat 2g, Carbs 0g, Protein 39g
1/4 Cup Marsala Sauce- Calories 110, Fat 5g, Carbs 7g, Protein 1g
Source: America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook
*All nutrition information is approximate
