Cooking Helps the Heart!

I have always found that cooking or baking has helped relieve some stress and nerves. If I am sad, I usually bake. It's theraputic for me in some way. But I just joined Weight Watchers and I am trying so hard to make better choices. After the bad day I had today with the loss of my kitty, my wisdom teeth decided to sprout an infection so now I am on some killer antibiotics and I got 2 blisters while walking today....I knew I would chose to bake some chocolate chip cookies rather than a more point friendly dessert! Terrible, I know...


Well, I decided to spice up our chicken tonight. We were going to have use our trusty lemon pepper seasoning but I had a few limes left over from the weekend and decided to put them to use! This recipe has been around the What's Cooking board, I believe...I got this recipe off of Allrecipes.com. I loved it! It was so juicy and had a nice kick to it! Next time I will add a little more spice to the mix, but it was very good. We had brown rice and corn with it (not pictured). Please don't mind the paper plate in the pic, I didn't feel like dirtying another plate just to take the picture! I was lazy like that today. See my modifications below for WW points. Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken

• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons lime juice

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and parsley. Sprinkle spice mixture generously on both sides of chicken breasts.
2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken until golden brown, about 6 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons garlic powder and lime juice. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently to coat evenly with sauce.

**I used just 2 tsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp butter to cook the chicken and that was plenty. The total points for this chicken is 5 points. Served with rice (1/4 cup=2 points) and 1 cup corn (2 points) the total meal equaled 9 POINTS. It was very filling. Very! Enjoy!