Beer can chicken - where have you been all my life?

A few weeks back I picked up a vertical "beer can" chicken roaster, stashed it in the garage and forgot about it until tonight. I used it for the first time and let me tell you, it was the best roasted chicken I've ever made!!! Here is what my new favorite kitchen toy looks like:

You can either put a can of beer right in the middle part, or you can pour any liquid in w/any seasonings you may like. We had bottled beer so I used that. I rubbed the chicken with olive oil and sprinkled it with salt, pepper and garlic powder. I also cubed up some red skin potatoes and tossed those with salt, pepper, olive oil and fresh garlic. You place the chicken on the cylinder and I put the potatoes down around it. It goes on the grill on high indirect heat for an hour, and voila! It was cooked to perfection and so were the potatoes (they needed to be tossed about half way through).

I was so excited about making this, that I actually forgot to take a picture of it on the roaster and I didn't take a picture after I plated it because I couldn't wait to eat it. I did manage to take a picture before I carved it:

Colorful, healthy and delicious!

When DH is away, I like to make things for myself that he doesn't normally like to eat. I've made chicken fried rice for him a few times and although he'll eat it, it's not his favorite thing. I, however, absolutely love it and couldn't wait to make it tonight. I made the rice last night so it would have the right texture for tonight.

Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients

2 cups cold cooked brown rice

8 oz. chicken breast

Frozen mixed veggies (whatever you like or have on hand)

1 egg

Soy sauce

2 tsp olive oil

Garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper

Dice the chicken into small cubes and season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Heat oil in a saute pan and cook the chicken until browned on the outside and almost cooked through in the middle. In the meantime, cook about a cup of frozen mixed veggies in the microwave until thawed. Add the cold rice to the chicken and mix together. Heat for a few minutes and then add the veggies. Heat a few more minutes and then push the whole mixture to the side. Crack the egg into the pan and scramble until cooked, then mix with the chicken and rice mixture. Season again if needed and then add soy sauce (again, however much you like - I probably used 1/4-1/3 cup). Mix well one last time and then serve!

Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

These are two very simple things I make, but both are so good. For the chicken, I take 2 bone-in split chicken breasts and put then in a baking dish. Rub a little olive oil on each one and sprinkle with your favorite spices (I use salt, fresh ground pepper, onion and garlic powders). Pour about a cup of chicken broth in the bottom of the baking dish and bake at 350 for about an hour and a half or so, until the chicken is cooked through. It comes out moist and delicious, with crispy skin on the outside.

For the potatoes, I toss cubed yukon gold potatoes with tons of fresh minced garlic, salt and pepper. Roast at 350 for an hour so they get nice and crispy.

It doesn't get much easier than that!

Cream Cheese Chicken....one of our faves!

I got this recipe from nestie MaryEllen several months ago, and it's been a favorite of ours ever since. I make it slightly different than the original recipe but that's the beauty of this recipe - you can adapt it to how you like it and it always comes out great! We like it served over simple steamed brown rice and tonight we had some steamed broccoli on the side. And at approximately 350 calories per serving, it is healthy to boot!

Chicken with Cream Cheese Sauce (Adapted from recipe of Nestie MaryEllen)

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1.5 cups chicken broth
4-8 cloves garlic
Red pepper flakes
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1.5 tbs flour
2 tsp white wine

Directions

Dice chicken into 1 inch pieces and season with salt and pepper (I usually do onion and garlic powder as well). Heat olive oil in a large pan and add chicken. After a few minutes, add crushed garlic. Cook chicken until browned on all sides then remove chicken from pan. Cover with foil to keep warm. Combine flour with wine and chicken broth, and stir until dissolved. Add to pan and scrape up any bits from the bottom. Heat sauce until bubbly and starts to thicken, then add cream cheese. Whisk until smooth. After 2-3 minutes, add chicken back to pan along with any juices that accumulated while resting. Let cook for another 2-3 minutes. This is great served over rice.

And for dessert, a bowl of delicious ripe berries with a generous spoonful of Cool Whip! So simple yet so delicoius. I know a lot of you probably aren't fans of Cool Whip, but at 25 calories per serving it's a great way for me to make my sweet tooth happy without upsetting my hips!