recipe reviews

eating wells mozzarella-stuffed turkey burgers
yummydeliciouscomfortfoodgoodness! thats a word, right?! seriously though, these were super easy to put together and tasted great. i even grilled them indoors on my grill pan. hubby is not a fan of sundried tomato, but when pureed he was none the wiser. (the tomato is pureed that is, not hubby.) i happen to love sundried tomato, so i am excited to have a way to incorporate them into more dishes. they add a lovely full bodied flavor that makes you feel like you are eating a dish with far more calories. this one gets a 5 out of 5!!

eating wells buttermilk dressing
super easy to put together and a great substitute for full fat varieties of ranch dressing. i did have to go to two stores to find dill seed and started to wonder if maybe it was a typo and they meant dill weed. but alas, i did find dill seed in the spice section at the local safeway. hubby did ask me if the dressing had greek yogurt in it, so i guess he could taste the tang of it. but i dont mind that at all, in fact i think it adds a zest to the dressing. i would give this a 4 out of 5.

cooking lights herb-crusted chicken with feta sauce (recipe below)
this was a crowd pleaser. i did not use whole wheat panko because what i had on hand was regular panko. also, i soaked the chicken in buttermilk before dredging it in the panko. why? because i bought it to make the buttermilk dressing and now i have this big container of it. it did keep the chicken nice and moist and help the panko stick. again, this was a quick meal to put together. i loved the sauce. although the word sauce is a bit of a stretch. its more of a topping i would say - not at all liquidy. which, dont get me wrong, is not a bad thing. feta is good stuff and i loved the combo of mint, feta and lemon. it was very fresh tasting, with a bit of a bite from the feta. next time i might add some diced fresh tomato to the "sauce" as well. this was a 4 out of 5.

ina gartens sauteed broccolini
i was a broccolini virgin until tonight. i do think that this dish will become a part of our regular rotation though. blanching veggies is a little bit of a pain, especially since our ice maker is out of commission right now - but running cold water worked in a pinch. the lemon and garlic were a nice combo and married well with the cl herb-crusted chicken with feta sauce which we had the same night. i used half of the amount of butter called for by ina, and also used light butter. i dont think it had an impact on the taste of the dish at all. 4 out of 5.

cooking lights herb-crusted chicken with feta sauce
reprinted from fresh food fast weeknight meals cookbook
2/3 cup whole wheat panko
2 tblsp italian seasoning
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 tsp olive oil
6 tbsp feta sauce

1. combine panko and seasoning in shallow bowl. sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; dredge in panko mixture.
2 heat oil in large non-stick skillet over med-high heat. add chicken; cook 5 minutes or until browned. turn chicken over; reduce heat to med., and cook 5 mins or until done. serve 1 breast half with 1 and 1/2 tbsp feta sauce spooned over chicken.

feta sauce
1 lemon
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
dash black pepper
1 (3.5oz) package of reduced fat feta

grate rind and squeeze juice from lemon to measure 1/2 tsp and 2 tbsp, respectively. combine rind, juice, mint, oil, and pepper in small bowl, stirring with a whisk. add cheese, stir with whisk. yield 7 servings.