Good morning, beautiful friends! How are you? Did you have a good weekend? I hope so! My weekend was quiet; but good. After the hubbub of the holidays and family and company, it was a calm weekend.
Just realizing that I have been following the Trim Healthy Mama way of eating for a year now… To me that means that I have been without sugar for a year… for the most part… I did try a couple desserts from friends this holiday season; but, for my every day, and usually even for special occasions, I have done a sugar free journey this last year – wow! Overall, it has been a good journey for me. And I believe that The Salesman has benefitted from me being on this journey. Not that it is the journey he is taking; but by the fact that I am on it, he has tried many new without-sugar recipes and he has enjoyed some of them. I have changed my buying and eating habits and feel healthier than I did a year ago.
The recipe I am sharing today from the new Trim Healthy Table cookbook is a winner. We (Victoria and I) made it while she was home for the holidays. I always enjoy her being home and it is an extra bonus when she and I are in the kitchen together…listening to music, singing, dancing…
Black Pepper Chicken is on page 68 of the Speedy Skillet Meals chapter. It can be made as an S (satisfying), E (energizing), or FP (fuel pull) meal. I made it as a FP. I did make rice as an optional side dish – it was not done when I plated the meal for pictures. I did not eat the rice; but if I had, it would have been an E meal. The rice was done about ten minutes after we sat down to eat! Yes, and it was not very good according to my dear family – just being real. I struggle with rice, not sure why; but, I do. I served sautéed mushrooms and zucchini and onions as side dishes. And Victoria went to a favorite Asian restaurant in town and brought home an order and a half of crab rangoon. YUM. They are not THM; but they went so well with this meal.
The family serve portion that we made was very generous, and we were hungry and ate well and still had lots of leftovers. The Salesman commented that he thought that it had too much black pepper. I agreed and made a note in the cookbook for the next time to reduce the pepper by half a teaspoon. I will make this recipe again. And I will remember to start the rice before I start the main dish! I would serve this to my family or to company – it was that good!
Cooking the chicken, spices and cabbage in the big red dutch oven:
At the dinner table with a little Christmas greenery in the background:
Yum…
Three thumbs up! And Salesman approved (with less black pepper!) Enjoy!